Water Shaper (World Aflame) (18 page)

Sammy frowned at the Elemental’s challenge. It knew controlling her body was exhausting. Though the order to let Xander go had been
short-lived, it had left her feeling wasted. She didn’t have the strength to make the Elemental demonstrate some semblance of modesty.

“Why?” the man on the floor said, daring a glance backward at his captor.

Both Sammy and the Elemental turned their attention to the cowering man.

“
What did you say?
”

The man rolled onto his side, clearly too weak to even climb to his knees. “Why do you hate humans so much?”

The Elemental stood, towering over the human. It looked over to Sammy in the mirror and smiled. “You misunderstand. I don’t hate humans. I have no issue with humans individually.”

It crouched down beside the man and reached out toward him. The man flinched away but it grabbed a hold of his hair, turning his face toward it.

“
What I have a problem with is the idea of humanity in general. You treat the planet like you’re an insolent child, leaving your toys lying around with no thought to the house you’ve left in disarray.

“
My brother and sisters gave you everything. They raised you like their own, giving you all the tools to be successful. They gave you the keys to their castle.
”

The Fire Elemental swept its arms wide, gesturing to the amazing view from the penthouse’s large bay windows. It scowled at the man.

“
And you squandered it. In a few generations, you ruined all that they had worked so hard to build.
Take a look out that window and see the thick pollution hanging in the air. Even before my Fire Warriors set fire to your city, you could barely see the ocean from your window when it’s practically close enough to throw a stone and strike it.
”

It paused and stared out the window. A malicious smile suddenly spread across its lips. “
So, do I hate you? No. In reality, I love you. I exist solely to destroy humanity once it overstepped its bounds, and I wouldn’t even exist if you hadn’t created a reason.
”

It reached down and tightly grasped the back of the man’s neck. The Elemental lowered its head dangerously close to the man. “
The truth is, I should thank you.
”

Sammy didn’t need to be inside the Elemental’s head to know what it had planned. “Don’t. Don’t do this.”

The Fire Elemental turned its attention to the mirror and stared at Sammy’s pleading expression. The man looked toward the far wall, trying to see what had caught the attention of his attacker. It saw nothing in the wide mirror aside from a reflection of the ceiling.

“
You genuinely love them, don’t you? After all they’ve done, you still want to try to save them.
”

Sammy frowned. “They’re not all bad. There are good people living all throughout the world. They don’t deserve you and what you’re trying to do to them.”

The Elemental laughed. Sammy felt disturbed by hearing a coarse version of her own laughter. It shook its arm, rattling the man it held by the neck. “
But not this one. Look at this home. He lives in extravagance, while those just at the base of this tower live in squalor. People like him make their living on the suffering of the planet. They’re exactly why I exist.
”

“No,” the man pleaded. “You got me wrong. I’m not like that. I didn’t do anything like that. Please, please.”

The Fire Elemental smiled wickedly as it stared at Sammy. “
You want to control this body? You want to save humanity? Then control the body now. You have one chance to save this man’s life. Reach out with your mind and take control of the body. Stop me from doing what you know he deserves.
”

Sammy shook her
head, but her eyes widened in fear. “Don’t do this. You don’t have to do this.”

She tried reaching out into the Elemental’s
mind, but it could already feel the fog of fatigue spreading over her efforts. She was too tired from controlling it previously.

The Elemental stood, dragging the man up by his neck. It stepped toward the bay windows and turned the man so he could see his fate. The man let out a whimper as his bladder released. He pawed weakly at the Elemental’s
hand, but it did little to dissuade the monster.

Sammy focused on the hand holding the man in place, yearning to have the fingers release the man’s neck. Despite her efforts, not even a finger twitched in response.

Instead, she shifted her gaze to the Elemental’s legs. At once, the Elemental stopped walking, stopping a few feet from the glass pane of the large outdoor windows.

It looked down at its legs and then shifted its gaze back to the window. The surprised expression quickly
faded, and the deadly smile returned. The red glow of its eyes intensified. “Good but not good enough. Time’s up.”

“No!” Sammy yelled.

The Elemental drew its arm back and threw the man through the pane of glass. The glass shattered around him, cutting his exposed upper body. His momentum carried him over the balcony railing, and he fell toward the ruined street below.

His scream echoed in Sammy’s ears the entire way until he crashed unceremoniously onto the asphalt road. Tears welled in her eyes. Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to look back to the monster inhabiting her body.

Xander stepped away from the rack of sweaters. A violent knot of pain burned in his gut, and he groaned as his knees grew weak. He stumbled and grasped for anything to support himself. His hands closed over a suit jacket. It pulled free from its hangar. The jacket wasn’t nearly enough to support him as another wave of pain rolled through his stomach. Xander fell to the ground, pulling the clothes down on top of him.

“Xander!” Jessica leapt from the seat and rushed to his side.

She pulled away the jacket on top of him. His face was contorted in anguish and surprise.

“Talk to me, Xander,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

Xander gritted his teeth but managed a broken sentence. “There’s a Fire Warrior nearby… using his power. But not… normal. I’ve… never felt anything… like it. So much power.”

Jessica looked over her shoulder, hoping Sean would have heard her cry of concern but he was nowhere to be found. She grabbed a silk tie off the round rack beside her and used it to dab Xander’s sweaty brow.

Xander took a deep breath, forcing the pain in his gut to subside. Despite its presence, he was able to push it down until it was little more than a dull ache.

“Help me up,” he said.

Jessica slipped her hands under Xander’s arms and pulled him up to a standing position.

“Thanks,” he said.

Jessica furrowed her brow. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

“There’s a Fire Warrior
nearby, and he’s more powerful than anything I’ve encountered before,” Xander sighed. He sat down heavily onto the bench and rubbed the back of his neck. “When he used his power, it was like someone kicked me right in the gut.”

“More powerful than anything we’ve encountered?” Jessica asked nervously.

Xander didn’t reply only because he knew how bad that sounded. He never considered there could be tiers of elemental power. He had only experienced the normal warriors and the Elementals previously. Who knew what he’d face with a new classification of more powerful warriors.

“We need to get Sean and get out of here,” Jessica said.

“We still need to wait for—” Xander began, before another lance of pain rolled through his gut.

The sharp pain was immediately joined by the sound of automatic gunfire, sounding like it was being fired from nearby. Xander bit his bottom lip until he tasted blood, as much to stop from crying out in pain as it was in concern for the British officer. It seemed dangerously reckless to fire all his ammunition at
once, and Xander assumed he probably wouldn’t have done it unless he was in real trouble.

Xander’s eyes glistened with tears from his pain, but the look in his eyes quickly shifted from discomfort to determination.

“I don’t care if they can find me if I use my powers,” he said. “I’m not going to let Wilkes sacrifice himself for me. We’re going after him.”

Jessica frowned but didn’t try to dissuade him. “What do you need me to do?”

“Go get Sean. Tell him to grab whatever weapon he’s found by now and meet me back here.”

Jessica stood in front of
him, unmoving. Xander looked up and arched an eyebrow.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Jessica said.

She turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the store.

Sean swung a cricket bat with a broad smile, reveling in the weight of the weapon.

“I had you guys all wrong,” he said as he swung again. “This thing’s awesome.”

He took a step away from the shelf and set his cricket bat on his shoulder. He took a quick glance over his shoulder, despite knowing that he was alone in the back of the store. Seeing no one, he turned back to the empty aisle.

“It’s the bottom of the ninth,” he said. “Bases loaded. He’s been facing a ninety-five mile per hour fastball from the Yankees closer all night and now sits with two strikes.”

Sean pointed toward the emergency exit sign that was illuminated above one of the store’s rear entrances.

“Is he? Yes. Sean is calling a homerun. That’s four hundred and eight feet to the center field wall but if anyone can do it, it’s him.”

Sean clutched the elongated grip on the heavy wooden bat and got into a batter’s stance.

“And here comes the pitch.”

Sean closed his eyes and swung his bat hard. The air swished audibly around the quick-moving bat.

“He’s connected. It’s going… going… gone!”

He released the bat with one of his hands and raised it to his mouth, faking the noise of a crowd cheering.

“What are you doing?” Jessica asked from the end of the aisle.

Sean let out an effeminate scream and dropped the cricket bat. It clattered on the hard floor, rattling as it came to rest against the sporting goods rack. He clutched his chest and fell against the shelves of cricket pads beside him.

Jessica raised a hand to her mouth to conceal the laugh that she tried to suppress.

“Don’t do that, you crazy woman,” Sean said.

He took a deep breath and tried to get his racing heart rate under control.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Jessica coughed politely to clear her throat. “Xander said we’re going after the British guy. Pick up your bat, Babe Ruth. We’re leaving soon.”

“Funny you’re coming after me,” Wilkes said as he came around the far end of the aisle, “when that’s the exact opposite of what I told you to do.”

Both Sean and Jessica screamed this time. The Leftenant laughed as he walked toward the pair. He reached over, retrieving one of the cricket pads and using it to wipe away the sweat and soot from his forehead.

“We thought you might be dead,” Jessica said.

“I practically was,” Wilkes said. “But not only did I not die, I have an idea of how to get us out of here.”

Wilkes looked around. “Where’s Xander?”

Jessica pointed toward the front of the store. “Right where you left him, though not by his own choice.”

“He’s a stubborn one, isn’t he?”

“You have no idea,” she said.

“Let’s go get him, and I’ll tell you what I have planned.”

He motioned for Jessica to lead the
way, and Sean fell into step beside him.

“Just out of curiosity,” Sean said, “would you think less of me if I peed myself. Just a little bit?”

Wilkes laughed at him without looking over. As they passed it, Sean reached down and retrieved the cricket bat.

Wilkes stepped past Jessica and Sean before Xander had a chance to express his relief at seeing the Brit.

“My wife and son,” he said.

Xander paused, and Wilkes took a seat on the changing room bench. The man looked exhausted and white ash still clung to his damp skin. Xander stood beside the bench and watched his profile as he continued.