Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (2 page)

Unlike Rayla, I didn’t enjoy living in the fae realm
— not when the Order went unchecked back home. Nigel Lambert, a man I once trusted and admired, recruited me at a time in my life when my world was crashing around me. Even now, the pieces haven’t crumbled completely. He’d come to get me after Rayla left for college. The Order raided the pig farm where my mom and dad worked and found the stash of Elementals hidden there. He took all of us. I fought him for a long time, but the constant temptation and threats had eventually worn me down until I didn’t recognize myself anymore.

While Rayla was deciding who she would bond with, I struggled to keep my humanity. Lambert showed me the baser part of society. He seduced me with riches, booze, and women. He promised me the world, and all I had to do was live life to the fullest. Take what I wanted whenever I wanted it.

The image of a dark-haired girl with turbulent green eyes hung in the recesses of my memory. Always present, it tormented me. No matter what I tried to do to keep from thinking about her, nothing worked. It wasn’t as if I lacked female companionship. With so many fae women intent on making me their bondmate, I’d been inundated with attention of every sort. In fact, I was beginning to understand why Rayla had such a hard time deciding.

Fae of the female persuasion were different than Elementals. Their confi
dence probably came from experience. I should have been flattered. I should have loved it, but there was something unimaginably attractive about a girl who let me lead, especially when she didn’t have to. Being chased by a horde of ladies wasn’t as amazing as I’d once thought. At least Rayla had the choice behind her. Unfortunately, I was eyebrow deep in fae kindness, and I wanted out.

When I was with Lambert, immersed in the Order, I thought I had control of everything. It was only when Rayla came to rescue me I realized what I’d become. Anger lurched inside me. I’d been a monster. I could never think of Faeresia as anything other than a diversion from what needed to be done. Lambert had to be stopped one way or another. No young boy should have to be subjected to the atrocities I’d seen. I had to find a way to destroy the Order.

At the idea, I stood, gave Rayla a dip of the chin, and exited the expansive hall. The gigantic gilded door banged closed behind me. The urge to run coiled my muscles, but no matter how far away I got, I’d still be here. I’d still be stuck in the fae realm without any ability to find Lambert, and more importantly, the girl who starred in my dreams. She was there in the quiet of night whether my eyes were closed or not. Would I ever be free of her? Did I want to be?

I found myself in the maze which stretched around the council building. I asked Rayla once why she created it; she’d told me sometimes she needed to get lost in her thoughts, and this was the perfect place for it. I lifted my hand, letting my fingers drag across the boxwood as I delved deeper into the living puzzle. Both soft and prickly, the sensation distracted me for a time. The twists and turns came and went until I found myself gazing at a giant oak with a single red bench anchored below it. By this time, most of my energy was spent, so I took a seat, startled by the view before me.

I hadn’t realized I’d traveled uphill, but here spread a panorama I’d only ever imagined. Gigantic snow-capped mountains loomed in the distance with the city sprawled from the base to where I sat. The buildings were a strange mix of modern and ancient, creating a patchwork of stone and steel. I’d never let myself admit to the beauty here, but it was now undeniable. My sister had done herself proud when she’d created the place. If only I could let myself care.

I’d been here when it happened. One moment, I was in a field in the fae capital of Lombarda and the next, this valley came into existence. Seems both Rayla and I had genetics going beyond normal Elementals. Our bio-logical father had been for all accounts and purposes an angel. Supposedly, he and the other royal guards had been sent to make sure the fae didn’t step out of line. From what I’d heard, though, the guard ended up being glorified babysitters.

When I joined Rayla after her battle with Valen, Nicco had given me a passing glance. It was the one and only time I ever saw my father.

I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d abandoned his family, and I had no proof his reasons were anything but made of self-preservation or cowardice.

What did I care? John Keller would always be my father, no matter what a DNA test said. Still, a part of me would always question how a father, angel or not, would allow another to raise his child. If it were me, I’d search every crevice until my offspring were uncovered.

EXCUSING MYSELF FROM THE COUNCIL, I followed my brother. Each day Travis became more despondent. I’d tried to talk to him. I’d even sent our mother to talk some sense into him, but he wouldn’t cave to the woman who gave him birth. When that didn’t work, I sent in my ever resourceful aunt. If anyone could get him to talk, it was Grace Keller, but unfortunately she’d come away empty, too.

Something was eating my brother, and I intended to discover what. I reached out with my senses, using techniques Heath had taught me to locate Travis’ unique signature. Before I’d known anything about the fae, I used to notice things about nature and people. I’d always sensed when others were upset before I caught a glimpse of them. I loved being in nature. It’s why I’d taken to running. I’d never realized I had been picking up on the individual vibrations unique to every living thing.

How many experiences had I missed because my mother chose to protect me from fae life? Knowing what I do now, I no longer blame her for abandoning me. The moment I saw her again, I mentally reverted to the four year old she’d left with Aunt Grace. She’d wanted me to have a normal life, but Elementals were not meant to exist among the mundane. We were created for a specific purpose: to balance the fae. I used to think their motivations selfish. When the lords came for me, each one claimed a connection to me. Each one captured my heart in one way or another. I didn’t know a heart could feel so much for so many people. Once in Faeresia, I instantly connected to several fae, servants and royals alike. I’d seen goodness and light mixed with selfish whims and darkness. Some claimed affiliation to the light court, some the dark, but the designation had nothing to do with actuality. Truth be known, the under-stirring of the dark movement had poisoned the fae court for millennia.

The real division came when I challenged Valen. He’d made himself king of the fae without Tabitha or anyone else ever knowing what he’d done. Valen stole the physical forms of his victims and absorbed their matter into his own. Each soul was then trapped inside the monster. When I’d first met him, he’d gone by the name Yaron. The next time I was at court, his identity and name had changed. He’d absorbed an underlord named Valen, and adopted the name. I was certain it was this occasional shift in identity which afforded him the luxury of going unnoticed for so long. I’d only figured it out at the last minute. By incorporating so many fae and human alike, he’d been able to take power that didn’t belong to him.

He truly was the definition of evil, and I knew one day soon, I’d have to face him again.

Chills rolled over me. Such vileness deserved to be wiped from the planet, but I’d been informed by an angel how Valen was my adversary and always would be. In the heat of the moment, I’d risked my eternal future for the fae. My fate was now tied to the straggling band of misfits who found a home on earth.
The cost? Maintenance would be the best way to describe what the fae do. I was still learning to control the elements, but I hoped one day soon, I’d be able to accompany Heath to the mortal realm. I’d heard horror stories from Order Elementals, who had been brainwashed into thinking the fae were the worst form of evil. The truth was much different than the Order would have Elementals believe. The fae are kind, at least those remaining. They have no desire to cause mischief for humans, no matter the reason. Still, they have a job to do, and if pressed, they will cause global destruction to restore the balance of power — the balance of nature.

My thoughts drifted back to my brother. He’d been captured by Cassie’s dad. Cassie became a permanent fixture in my life the moment she moved to our hick town. My family kept secrets from me, and so had Cassie. When she and I went away to school, we left the sanctuary Aunt Grace hid me in, and I wasn’t the only one who was bombarded by fae creatures from that moment forward. Cassie always had the ability to see the fae, even though for most humans, their presence was cloaked. Creep that he was
, her father experimented on her since she was a baby. He’d given her injections of who knew what, which may or may not have changed her. It was always possible she’d been born with the abilities I now realized were similar to the first Elemental before she was transformed. Cassie may have demonstrated an ability with the fae from the moment she was a little girl. I’d probably never know what came first: her ability or the experiments. Lambert took Travis when the Order raided our small town and found rebels who were hidden at the pig farm. I’d been told there was an entire fortress under the facility, but I’d never actually seen it myself. Whatever Lambert had done to Travis must have been awful. He hadn’t been the same since we rescued him. As worried as I was about Cassie and what her dad had done to her, I was even more so with my brother. He was growing restless, and I needed to make sure he stayed focused on what was important.

I found him in the center of the maze, sitting under the silver maple, gazing at the sky. He didn’t acknowledge me when I took the place beside him. I couldn’t believe how much he had changed. Gone was the gangly boy I grew up with. He became a man without me realizing. I frowned, touching his rigid shoulder with tentative fingers. “What is it?”

He sighed — something he did too much lately. “You’re never gonna get anything accomplished sitting out here with me.”

I shook my head, instilling my voice with conviction. “We need your help.”

Travis scoffed, his tone growing more agitated with every word. “Nothing I have to say will make a difference. Those guys will take forever to agree on anything. They’re used to ruling, not voting.” He jumped to his feet and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his faded jeans. “I need to leave.”

I stood, staring at Travis, trying to reconcile the man in front of me against the boy I grew up with. His hair was only a few shades lighter than mine now, instead of the brilliant blond it had always been. His strong jaw and deep set nearly black eyes reminded me of Nicco. It was as if I looked at a stranger. I no longer knew him.

How could I when he never stayed around long? Even toward the end of junior high, he found a way to escape the never ending chore-pile at home. A pang of regret slithered inside me. Sometimes, I missed the old Victorian with the shabby paint job and even shabbier lawn. “Where will you go?”

He tucked his thumbs through his belt loops, tipping his head back as if the answer resided in the heavens. “To be honest, I’m not sure. All I know is I can’t stay here. I’m not like these people.”

I wanted to understand, but everyone I cared about was in Faeresia. We’d kept the name the fae had given the place, even though the landscape had changed completely. I hadn’t had the heart to choose a new name. It was the only thing remaining from when Valen ruled. Maybe one day we’d change it, but we had so much more to worry about right now. Something so trivial didn’t matter. “Your whole family is here. We have nothing in the human realm.”

Travis gritted his teeth, as if biting back the response he wanted to give me. “I ... I need to find someone.”

I stepped closer, studying my brother’s dark eyes. “Who?”

HOW COULD I EXPLAIN WITHOUT SOUNDING like the creep I was? All kinds of excuses passed through my mind, but I settled for the truth. Lies always had a way of piling up on me, only to topple over at the worst moment. “I don’t know her name.”

Giving a snort, Rayla smiled. To my surprise, her tone showed a hint of enthusiasm. “Is she an Elemental?” I nodded, but words would fail to provide an adequate explanation. Her excitement faltered with her expression. “Is Lambert involved?”

I offered a smirk worthy of my sister. “Isn’t he always?”

She groaned, twirling away, her hand flipping into the air. When she faced me again, her features stiffened. “Stay away from him. He’s not worth the trouble.”

Resentment welled inside me. She didn’t understand the meaning of the word. “What would you know about real troubles? All anyone has ever done to you was shelter you. Even the lords in all their bickering kept you away from the real threat.”

Her voice dipped low. “Don’t you tell me about trouble,
Travis. You have no idea what Lambert did to me on his disgusting island. He took my eggs to impregnate other girls. For all I know, I could have a kid running around somewhere.”

My quick reply left her with her mouth hanging open. “You’re not the only one.”

Rayla frowned, the muscles in her neck tightening. “What are you talking about?”

I attempted an answer but came up with zilch. Speaking the words wouldn’t ease the ache. “I wouldn’t want to mar your pretty ideas for the future.”

She punched my shoulder, which made me flinch from the power behind it. Since when did Rayla become a ninja? Clipped and stilted, her voice rocketed through the space. “I want solutions not delusions. It’s why I need you in the meetings. The fae perspective isn’t the only one that matters.”