Water Shaper (World Aflame) (21 page)

On top of that, he still had an ache in his chest every time he thought of Sammy and what she could be going through. Every moment they delayed meant she could be one step closer to becoming the host to the Fire Elemental. Though it had been his idea to stop here and rest
—and he knew that they needed it—he almost wanted to push on and get their mission over.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Jessica asked.

Xander looked up and saw her hanging over the side of his chair, her chin resting on her crossed arms. He hadn’t even heard her stand up, much less approach him.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

“Of course it’s something,” she said. “Tell me about it.”

Xander sat up and looked at the others, who had turned their attention toward them. Wilkes was no longer smiling and looked much like the stern British officer they’d encountered when they first flew into the city.

He sighed. “All these new powers and responsibilities just keep piling on top of me. I almost feel like I’m drowning in it, if you know what I mean. I just think I might have bitten off more than I can chew, so much so that I barely even feel like myself anymore.” Xander formed a ball with his hands. “I feel like I’m an onion. The real me is still there in the core, but I’m covered with all this new responsibility.”

Jessica slowly shook her head.

Xander furrowed his brow. “What?”

“You’re doing your pity party crap again. We understand; you’ve drawn the short straw for a life. No one’s going to argue that you’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices. You’ve lost more than Sean or me or— ” She pointed at Wilkes but immediately dropped her hand. “Well, more than Sean or I could imagine. But
you have to get over it.”

“Just get over it,” Xander said with a derisive laugh. “Just like that.”

Jessica reached over the seat and put her hand over his. “No, not just like that. I don’t expect you to forget about all the pain, but I would appreciate it if you learned to channel it into something more productive than just feeling sorry for yourself. Let it be the fire that drives you forward.”

“Anything else?” he asked.

Sean got up from his seat and nodded his head as he approached.

“And, dude, you suck at analogies. You’re not an onion. An onion implies you peel back your gruff exterior and you find that heart of gold
—that sensitive man—underneath. That’s the onion analogy. You’d know that if you ever watched Shrek.”

“It was a stupid movie,” Xander replied. Though he tried to be harsh about it, he knew there was a punch line brewing and felt a lighthearted humor creeping into his gruff exterior.

“You’re stupid,” Sean retorted.

“But?”

“No ‘buts’. You’re stupid.”

Xander frowned. “I meant about the onion.”

“Oh yeah. But you’re not an onion. You’re a platypus. All the weird elemental powers you have are the duckbill on your furry body. They’re the beaver tail to go with your webbed feet. They’re the toxic barb behind your back leg. Yeah, you’re just a whole collection of crazy that’s stuck together into, well, whatever you are now.”

Sean put his hands on his hips. “You’re a platypus.”

Xander’s face contorted into an odd combination of frown and suppressed laugh. “Why do I even bother talking to you?”

“Because the alternative is talking to Officer Grumpypants,” he said, pointing his thumb at Wilkes.

The pre-packaged brick of pound cake struck Sean in the back of the head. He stumbled forward, and Xander barely managed to catch him before he fell on top of him.

“Get some sleep, you wankers,” Wilkes said with a smile. “We’ll get started again in a couple of hours.

Jessica was already lying down again before Sean retrieved the pound cake package from the floor. With an uncaring shrug, he tore open the package and stuffed a handful of it into his mouth.

Xander laid his head back and closed his eyes, laughing to himself about being compared to a platypus. He drifted off to sleep pretty quickly, without the overwhelming feeling of stress pressing down on top of him.

The leather of the makeshift throne tugged at the Fire Elemental’s naked legs. It shrugged aside the minor inconvenience while its eyes never left the mirror across the room.

Sammy could feel its eyes upon her but refused to glance toward it. The monster in her skin watched her mockingly, knowing she had been unable to save the human it had sacrificed. She felt queasy at the thought of the man falling to his
death, and she felt the urge to vomit when she thought about Xander being in trouble. General Abraxas wielded the Elemental’s power. He was dangerous enough without the added strength. The Xander she knew wouldn’t stand a chance against the General. Sammy knew that Xander had found two of the other Elementals. She only hoped their combined might was enough to defeat Abraxas.

The door opened on the far side of the room and both Sammy and the Elemental turned toward the disruption. General Kobal entered the room and walked to the foot of the recliner. He bowed, concealing the faint blush at his master’s unfettered nudity.

“
You’re here sooner than I would have expected
,” the Elemental said. It brushed a loose strand of blond hair irritatingly from its face.

Kobal stood straight. Sammy could see the General from two sides, one from the perspective of the mirror, and one through the eyes of the Elemental. The General’s armor was dark, concealing much of the stain across it. Even darkened, Sammy could see faint red blood dripping from the oiled hinges of the shoulder plates.

“The conquest went quicker than expected, Master. Much of the city has already fallen before our Fire Warriors.”

The man flexed his broad shoulders with pride. Sammy could immediately sense the Elemental’s skepticism, however. It arched a plucked eyebrow and laced its fingers together in front of its face.

“
If only much of the city has fallen and not all of it, then you shouldn’t be here. You should be leading your warriors as you finish claiming this city for me. Why are you here, General Kobal?
”

Kobal’s confidence
faltered, and his shoulders sagged slightly. “We’ve encountered pockets of resistance with some of the neighborhoods. They’ve proven difficult to break.”

The Elemental unlaced its fingers and gripped the padded armrests of the recliner. “
And you are unable to handle this problem by yourself? You’ve come here because you need me to do your job for you?
”

His abilities called into question, Kobal raised his square chin defiantly. “I came only to keep you informed, Master. My Fire Warriors will destroy any resistance these humans offer. I’ll have their heads decorating the city by morning.”

The Fire Elemental sighed in irritation and stood. “
You’ll do no such thing. I won’t wait until morning to rid this city of its human population. I’ll take care of this problem myself.
”

“But Master,” Kobal protested. “You can’t take away this privilege from me.”

“
I can do whatever I want, General.
” The Elemental narrowed its eyes dangerously, as a warning to the insolent man. “
While I’m gone, you will stay here in my throne room.
”

It looked around the
room, and its eyes settled on the mirror. Sammy stared back at the creature angrily, though she knew it was only a façade. Truthfully, she was frightened again. If the Elemental wanted to wipe out the pockets of human resistance, there was little she could do to stop it. And as little as a chance as she had at stopping the Elemental, the humans had no chance at all. It wasn’t joking when it said they’d be dead by morning.

“
And cover that mirror while I’m gone,
” the Elemental added. “
I’m tired of looking at my host. I don’t want to see it when I get back.
”

Sammy caught the double entendre of its comment. It wasn’t just its reflection it tired of. It was tired of seeing its host still alive. No matter what the Elemental tried, Sammy did not intend to abdicate her body to that monster.

General Kobal unhooked his flowing cloak and carried it toward the mirror. The Elemental turned toward the window and took a step backward as it prepared to run. The well-muscled feminine body sprinted across the floor. It passed through the shattered window, oblivious to the broken glass over which it trotted. Reaching the metal half railing on the end of the balcony, the Elemental leapt smoothly over its edge. It plummeted toward the ground below, following the trajectory of the poor human it had so recently tossed through the same window. Instead of hitting the ground, the skin of the woman split as bright red scales burst from its body. Its neck elongated as a snout formed at the end of its face. It grew in massive scale as it shed its human form. With a spread of its giant, leathery wings, the dragon arched its back and quickly leveled off. It sped down the street before arching again and climbing high into the sky.

Within the penthouse, General Kobal affixed the cloak over the mirror. Sammy’s vision was immediately replaced with the red fabric, leaving the room beyond barely visible through its stretched threads.

Undeterred, Sammy closed her eyes and felt her consciousness pass to the dragon.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she said as she looked out through the draconic eyes.

The world looked stranger through the Elemental’s vision. It was cast in shades of blue and red as it scanned the city for heat signatures. The fires of its warriors burned brilliant white against the cool surroundings. Sammy wasn’t sure how the Elemental managed depth perception in such a strange vision, but it seemed unfazed by the shift. She could actually feel the sigh of contentment as the Fire Elemental settled back into its natural form.

“
If it were that easy, I would have destroyed you long before now,
” it said. “
I’m not trying to destroy you anymore.
”

Sammy didn’t think for a second the Elemental was suddenly being altruistic. “It’s about time you gave up.”

The Elemental’s laughter was a rumble, like the warning before a volcano’s eruption. “
I’m not giving up. I’m just smart enough to know that until I figure out why you survived the host process, I can’t destroy your consciousness.
”

“Then you’re stuck with me, because I’m not giving up either. I’m going to do everything I can to thwart your attacks on the world.”

“
I’m not stuck with you; you’re stuck with me. You don’t have control of this body, which means you’re helpless to watch as I destroy everything you hold dear. So do your worst. Believe me when I tell you that I will be doing the same. In fact, I think I’ll start doing my worst right now.
”

The sound of gunfire reached their shared hearing. The dragon shifted its
gaze, and Sammy saw a maddening flicker of white and red heat as a battle ensued beneath them. Sammy could see the flares as jets of flames struck the exterior of a long building. From within it, quick muzzle flashes sparked from the open windows. Though it was only a small victory, Sammy cheered quietly when she saw a Fire Warrior collapse to the road with a gunshot wound.

Her victory was short-lived. She felt the furnace boiling within the dragon’s chest and could feel the wash of hatred roll through the Elemental. As much as she wanted to be within the Elemental’s head so that she could stop it, they shared emotions as well as sight. The hatred felt like it seeped into Sammy’s mind as well
and, for the briefest moment, she yearned for the destruction of the humans. She recoiled in horror at the thought and screamed out in hatred, not at the humans but at the Elemental. If it heard her cries, it didn’t show any reaction.

The dragon tipped its wings and dove toward the building. Its long shadow fell over the windows facing the
street, and the gunfire halted. Sammy heard a few shots ring out seconds later as they aimed at the monster flying above them. Though she knew her life was tied to that of the Elemental, Sammy almost wished one of the bullets would find its mark and kill them both. Her disappointment grew when the bullets reflected harmlessly off the thick scales of its skin.

The dragon
inhaled, and Sammy tried to force its mouth shut in a panic. Her head ached from the exertion and, had she been in control of the body, she probably would have vomited from the effort. Instead, she felt her strength leaching away until she mentally collapsed in exhaustion. She was helpless to do anything more than watch through the dragon’s eyes as it exhaled.