Fate of Elements (6 page)

“
S
omeone’s playing
in my garden.” Carefully I focused my energy on searching out the trespasser while hiding my energy trail. I knew who it was, but I needed to find her, discover her, be able to seek her out at any time I wanted and identify her. I needed to make sure she couldn’t ever hide from me. Her playing in my garden was the best way to do it. I knew she’d been practicing, Erion had kept me updated. Hallet wasn’t stupid, he made sure she knew the other magics before she tried her feeble hand at mine.

The man under me squirmed as he tried to get free so he could breathe. His savage bucking was finally too much to ignore. Allowing my attention to stray, I enjoyed his last moment of life as I took his essence into me. Sighing, I climbed off and flicked my wrist to have one of my guards take him away.

What the others didn’t know – were too stupid to know – was while in essence, we were dominated by the light, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t go deep into the dark, that we couldn’t embrace it, lay down with it and grow stronger. I closed my eyes and felt the Water magic merging with my Earth magic. It wasn’t as strong as mine, it would never be, but I knew if I took enough, I would be the unstoppable force they would bow down to. I could be a god. We didn’t need her. The stronger the magic of the person I took, the longer and stronger their magic would last in me.

I knew if I took another Queen or King, I could survive for hundreds of years on their magic alone. When I took hers, I’d be God, and she’d be dead.

“
A
gain
,” Hallet demanded.

“No.” I was mentally and physically exhausted, and still, he wanted more.

“Again.”

“No.”

“Listen, little girl, you have no idea what is coming. You’re not strong enough. You need to prepare.”

“Little girl?” Anger flowed through me, giving me energy I didn’t know I had.

“Yes, little girl. You’re but a mere babe compared to the rest of us who have had
centuries
to practice our magic. Anyone with power is going to be able to bring you down, let alone a King or Queen. Trust me, Dayna will not back down. She will kill you.” He paused for a moment, and folded his arms across his chest. “Again.”

I hated that word.

For the first time since I stepped through that door, I wanted to turn around and leave this place. This was too much. I wasn’t strong enough. I should go back to where I knew what every day would bring. Where the weight of bringing this world together wasn’t on my shoulders. Where I could simply go back to reading about someone else going through this and not living with the actual pain.

“Again.”

Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back and begged for strength and guidance. In my world, I was an office worker who spent my free time with books and not people. Here, I’m a freaking god who was supposed to unite everyone, bring peace to this world. How was I supposed to do that when I’d never had this kind of responsibility? What if I made the wrong decision? What if people get hurt? How can I make everyone happy when I have no idea how to lead?

“Again.”

“No!” I screamed at him. “Enough. I’m not going to do it again.” I spun from him and stalked across the meadow, to where I didn’t know, but I had to get away from him. As soon as I was in the shadows of the trees, he appeared in front of me, blocking my way.

“Again.”

My anger boiled over, and with all my strength, I shoved him back. What I hadn’t been expecting was how much stronger I was in this world, and when my magic was added to it, I could do some serious damage. I watched in horror as he flew backwards splintering trees and knocking them to the ground. The animals of the forest cried out in surprise as their calm was destroyed. The sickening sound of his bones breaking as he slammed into a rock wall echoed louder than the noise created from my anger. His body slid to the ground, motionless.

“No, no, no!” I screamed as I ran after him. What had I done? The exact thing he’d been warning me about since I created that storm when I first arrived. I had to keep my emotions under control. If I didn’t, people would get hurt.

Falling to the ground next to him, my hand trembled as I reached out for him. “Hallet? I’m so sorry, please tell me you’re okay.”

He moaned, but hardly moved. God, what was I going to do if I had killed him? I couldn’t stop myself, a hysterical laugh whispered out of me. Here, I was the god.

Trying to calm myself, I closed my eyes and focused inwardly. I pushed aside all the self-doubt and worry and pulled all my magic into one sphere. The colors of the different magics swirling around each other. Taking what I needed from each element, relying heavily on Fire – his base, I laid my hands on his body. I could feel how weak and hurt he was. For a second, my magic wavered, responding to his white hot pain before I pushed it aside. Focusing my energy, I pushed my healing into him. I saw in my mind how it seeped through his body, repairing the damage I had done in my fit of anger.

When I was done and drew myself out of him, I was surprised at how weak I felt. Sinking back against the rock, I tried to keep my eyes open, watching him. I needed to make sure what I had done had helped. As the hawk’s cry echoed around me, I looked up and saw what Hallet called Erion’s spy circling above us. I knew I had to show strength even in my absolute weakness, but I couldn’t move. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep for days.

The wind picked up, and a man flew down from above, gracefully landing next to Hallet, looking at me. His long, dark, grey hair whipped around him as he bent down. “What have you done?”

“Let my anger get ahold of me, which you know something of, I’m sure.” I wished my voice was stronger, but it came out as a whisper.

“Foolish girl.” He came over and sat down in front of me, elegantly relaxed, as if we were having a casual conversation during an afternoon picnic. But I knew he was on guard and ready to fight. “You need to gain more control.”

“Like you?”

His lips twitched. “Yes, like me. I’m willing to admit in my younger days I would fly off the handle at the littlest things, but you see, to me, they weren’t little. That’s what you need to remember. Everyone perceives things differently.”

My strength wasn’t coming back fast enough, I had put too much into Hallet trying to heal him. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up and cursing me for being so reckless.

“No, I completely get that. So, you’ve forgiven Hallet.” I said it as a statement, not a question. Erion had been in love with Dayna his whole life; he felt it was a love stories were written of. But it wasn’t. At least not the type of story he wanted. He knew Hallet didn’t do anything to encourage her, yet somehow, she had still fallen in love with him. It broke Erion’s heart.

He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

“Because as soon as you knew this happened, you came here to help.”

“Or to finish the both of you off.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” I replied.

“You don’t know me.”

“No, but I’ve read about you, your history along with all of the Air elements. I’m not saying you don’t hate the fact that I am here and am worried for your people, but I also know you will at least see what happens before making any rash decisions. You wouldn’t risk hurting the people you call family.”

He nodded. “For now, yes, you are correct.”

“I’m not naïve enough to think you aren’t considering taking me out now to avoid future trouble.”

This time he chuckled. “Oh, you’re good.”

“I know.”

“I may just like you.”

“And therefore, allow me to live?” I asked.

“Possibly.”

“Well, since we have that settled. Nice weather we’re having.”

He threw back his head, and his booming laugh filled the forest.

Looking at both him and Hallet, I was amazed at the difference between the two of them. Erion’s hair had turned from the dark grey when he first arrived to pure white now. His bright blue eyes held humor and intelligence. Where Hallet was so dark and brooding, Erion was light and had a sense of humor.

“Tell me, do you know of the prophecy?”

“Yes, I actually had read about it before I stepped through the Skeleton Door.”

“And what do you think of it? Is it all true?” he asked.

“We have yet to see.”

“But you do have the magic of all four elements, I’ve seen that.”

“Well, your hawk has seen it.”

“I’ve seen it through his eyes. Just as Naida sees through her whale, Dayna through her lioness, and Hallet, his snake. It’s like using our own eyes to see what we want.”

“But you aren’t limited to those creatures alone, are you?”

“No, we can use any animal that identifies with our element. It comes in handy.”

“I’m sure it does. How well did you know my uncle?”

“Ahhhh… Charlie. He was quite a character.”

“I never knew I had an uncle until I received the letter informing me of his death and last will and testament. He left me his entire estate, including the library.”

“Fate said it was to be that way. You were to be kept in the dark about your heritage until the time was right.”

“So, all of this was already planned?”

“Eons ago, and there is nothing we can do about it.” His voice was sharp with bitterness.

“Why does it make you so angry?” I asked.

“All of this heartache, all of the battles, the loss, everything was for nothing because it didn’t matter what we did or didn’t do, the end result would be the same. You’d come, put a pretty bow on everything, and make it all perfect.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve never been particular to bows in my life.”

His smile was slow and sad. “You are very similar to him.” He stood up and looked down at me. “He was a good man, Raina, he brought us stories of your world and shared ours with yours. While there are so many differences, the similarities were there also. I enjoyed many nights talking with him. If he left you any words of wisdom, I’d follow them if I were you.” He turned and started to walk away before changing his mind and returning to me. He crouched down to my level and looked me straight in the eye. “I’m assuming Hallet hasn’t told you what he gains by being the one you choose to love?”

“What makes you –?”

“Stop, child. I’m sure he didn’t. Let me share two pieces of information. First, he must wake soon. I’ll call up the Fire Elements and have them take him underground. He’ll heal quicker there. Trust me, you don’t want to be out here and vulnerable if Dayna decides to strike while you are weak. And second, he’d not just be your mate; your powers would merge into him, giving him power over the other elements.”

My mind whirled, attempting to figure out exactly what it was he was trying to tell me.

“I’m sure you can imagine what that would mean to the other elements, to have one of their own suddenly more powerful, the right-hand to the new god. I’m afraid if that should happen, he may take revenge against those he feels have wronged his people.”

Gracefully, he stood up and walked away before disappearing into the sky. Crawling over to Hallet, I lay down next to him, thankful when I could feel his heart beating. I never once thought he’d have some underhanded reason for wanting to help me. Probably because I knew him, I’d dreamt of him. And if I were to be honest with myself, there was a point in every story where loyalties were tested and secrets revealed. If that were the case here, then that meant we were about to go into the final chapter before the end of the story. What would happen then? There were so many possibilities it made my head hurt, and all I wanted to do was curl up in Hallet’s arms and fall asleep. Hearing the lion’s roar, I knew we had run out of time. Dayna was coming.

Rolling over, I dug my fingers below the surface of the ground, and using Hallet’s fire signature, I called for his second in command, Ronin, hoping my message would get through. I knew he’d be here as quickly as possible for his King.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.” A female voice called from the rock ledge above us. “You don’t look like a god to me.”

“Why don’t you come closer and get a better look?” I called up to her.

“No, that’s quite all right. I’m happy up here on my rocks. You know,” her head tipped to the side, “from up here, it’d be so easy to, oh, I don’t know, have a boulder fall on your heads.”

“I believe you mean head, singular. Somehow I don’t think you want Hallet dead.”

Her lip curled. “There was a time when I’d give anything for him to love me. But he killed that. Do you know he believes my parents killed his one true love? That was his justification for killing them. We all had lost so much, and still, in his uncontrolled anger, he took out so many. My people’s numbers were depleted by his. No, I wouldn’t shed a tear if he died.”

It was taking me longer and longer to open my eyes after every blink.

“Oh, looks like it is past baby’s nap time,” her voice sing-songed from above. “Here, let me help knock you out.”

I could hear the sound of rocks grinding against each other, and I opened my eyes, gasping. There, about twenty feet above us, was a boulder the size of a large pickup truck.

“Sweet dreams,” she laughed.

Suddenly, arms came from under the ground and pulled us down below the dirt. The last thing I heard was Dayna’s scream of rage as I was buried in darkness.