by Quinn Loftis
This is Liam, one of Elias’s brothers. Yes, I snagged his phone. No, the wanker doesn’t know. I’m texting you because I care about him, no matter that he can be a complete ass. I need to make sure you’re not going to break his heart by hooking up with this Tucker guy he keeps going on about. I don’t know you, Tara, but my bro is crazy about you. Remember that while you’re on this date that is supposedly not a date.
Tara read the text several times, her mind struggling to process the words. Elias had lied to her. He’d said that he was an only child. And she couldn’t believe his brother would send her something so blunt when he didn’t even know her.
“Tara,” Shelly said, interrupting her thoughts. “I’m going to the ladies’ room. Do you want to come with?”
Tara’s mind was racing. She slowly shook her head. Shelly frowned but then shrugged and got up.
“I’ll be right back.”
Tara didn’t see her friend leave. She was still staring at the phone.
“Tara,” Tucker said, “Can I talk to you? In private?”
Tara turned to look at him, and her brow drew down at the serious look on his face. Tucker rarely looked serious.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But it’s really important.”
“Okay.” She stood up when he did and offered her his hand. Tara took it and let him lead her out of the gym and into the hall of the school.
Tucker continued to lead her toward the rear of the school and pushed open one of the emergency exits. She sucked in a breath, expecting a blaring alarm to sound. She frowned when nothing happened. Tucker didn’t hesitate. He just marched through the door and out into the night. She followed him to a bench and sat down next to him.
He turned his body toward her, took a breath, and let it out slowly. “What I’m about to tell you is going to seem crazy, but I’m asking you to have an open mind and hear me out. Can you do that for me?”
Tara’s heart felt like it was trying to climb out of her throat. Tucker seemed so sincere and earnest that she found herself nodding.
“Thank you,” he said, sounding relieved. “I’ve decided to tell you this because of that text you just received. I’m sorry I read it, but I saw Elias’s name, and I knew you needed to know how dangerous he is. He isn’t who he says he is. Neither is the man who was with him at the job fair.”
Tara’s stomach dropped. How would Tucker know anything about Elias and Jax? She already knew she did not want to hear what Tucker was about to say, but she knew she had to force herself to listen. She didn’t want anything to sully how she saw Elias, but burying her head in the sand was not going to change the truth.
“The world that you know isn’t the only one that exists around us.”
Tara tilted her head. “Okay, totally not what I thought you were going to say. What the heck are you talking about?”
“I mean that humans aren’t the only ones inhabiting the earth. In fact, we aren’t even the first beings to inhabit it. There is an entire invisible, supernatural world living in secrecy all around us.”
“Supernatural,” she said slowly. “Like vampires?” Tara asked, wondering who the bigger idiot was, Tucker or herself.
Tucker shook his head. “No. Not vampires or werewolves or anything like that. I’m talking about elementals. Invisible beings that are the living manifestation of earth, fire, water and air—the four core elements that make up the earth. They can take various forms like sirens, golems, wood nymphs, and other beings that are a part of the natural world they inhabit.”
Her eyes widened. “Wood nymphs?” Holy hell fire. Elias hadn’t been kidding. Or maybe he and Tucker were both crazy. Perhaps they were both in on this elaborate scheme together.
“There are more but that’s not what’s important right now. What is important is that you are in danger. Elias and the elementals he associates with aren’t good. They want you. They plan to kidnap you.”
“No,” she said automatically as she shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t hurt me.” He couldn’t because if he was capable of that it would destroy her, of that she was certain.
“I’m sorry, Tara. I didn’t know that you had continued to have contact with him after the job fair. I would have told you sooner to keep you safe.”
“How do you know all this?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on him.
“Because I’m a part of that world, too. I can wield water magic.” He pulled a flask from inside his tux and unscrewed the lid. He held his hand over the top and then looked at her. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
“I make no promises,” she said honestly. She was already freaking out. She just had a lot of experience keeping it contained.
Tucker began moving his hand in a circle over the top of the flask, and a second later, water began to rise out of it in a steady stream. It continued to rise as he lifted his hand higher. Once all of the water was floating in the air, he set the flask on the table and began moving both his hands in various directions. The water began to weave and bob. It flowed in a circle, and when Tucker threw his hands outward, the water appeared to shatter like glass and spread into tiny droplets suspended in the air. Tara found herself reaching out her hand and poking one of the droplets. It moved slowly as if it were in a thick, viscous liquid.
“I’m not going to freak out. I’m not going to freak out. I’m not going to freak out,” Tara repeated over and over under her breath as she continued to watch Tucker make the water move. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. To know he was capable of something so incredible and that there were more like him out there in the world.
“Can Elias do this, too?” she asked. She watched as Tucker made a quick motion with his hand. The water sucked quickly back into the flask with a quiet sloshing sound.
Tucker shook his head. “Not exactly. I have the ability to wield water. Elias uses earth magic.”
“What does that mean? Uses earth magic? And how do you have these powers, and what in the hell does it have to do with me?” Tara realized that the freak-out she had been so carefully containing was slipping through her grasp. She was headed for a full-on break if she wasn’t careful.
“Calm down,” said Tucker. His voice was soothing, and she found her breathing slowing in spite of herself. “You’re like us,” he said.
“No, I’m not.” Tara shook her head as if that would somehow make it true.
“Yes, you are.”
“I think I would know if I was capable of making water dance in the air. And I would definitely remember seeing wood nymphs dancing outside my window, or anything else weird like that.” She tried not to think about the fact that her body was impervious to injury or pain. Was that magic? It didn’t seem like something that would qualify as magic. It seemed like biology. Like she had some mutated genetics or something.
“Five years ago, you were made a Mark by Jax. He is also capable of wielding earth magic. Marking someone is like staking a claim. It means they plan to come get you when you come of age.”
“Like kidnap me?” Tara’s eyes widened.
Tucker nodded. “They want to take you and train you to use your magic to harm people.”
Tara didn’t know how many times she was going to have to say it to get Tucker to believe her. “I DON’T HAVE MAGIC.”
“That’s not what’s important right now. What’s important is you know the truth. When Jax Marked you, he put a protection spell on you. It was a way to guarantee that nothing will happen to you. It’s how they ensure they can continue to make their…” Tucker hesitated. Tara couldn’t help but lean forward, breathlessly waiting on his next word. “…killers. The people who will serve them and do their dirty work. The spell prevents you from being injured in any way.”
Tara’s heart pounded painfully in her chest, and she could feel a bead of sweat running down the middle of her back. How could he know about her ability if he wasn’t telling the truth? She knew that Shelly wouldn’t have told hi
m or anyone else.
“You knew that part, didn’t you? That you couldn’t be hurt?” Tucker asked.
“Of course I knew. How could I notice that I never got so much as a papercut? But why five years ago? What was significant then that Jax would Mark me or whatever?” She wanted to add “if you’re telling the truth and not just a nut job, but there was no point because there was no reason to lie about any of what he’d told her. Not unless he really was crazy and didn’t know that what he was saying couldn’t possibly be real. As logical as that sounded, it wouldn’t explain how he knew about her ability.
“Your parents were killed.”
“No. They died in a car accident.”
Tucker shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Tara, but that’s not really what happened. I mean, yes, they were killed in a car accident, but someone caused it. They were killed by earth elementals, like Jax and Elias.”
Tara stood suddenly and began to pace. That events of that night came flooding back, memories she usually kept tightly locked away because they were just too painful. “Did Jax kill my parents?”
“I honestly don’t know if it was him specifically. I just know it was his kind,” Tucker said.
“Why did they kill them?”
“Because they wanted you. You caught the attention of an elemental. They are able to tell when a person has the capacity to wield magic. Not all humans can.”
“So, they killed my parents to make me an orphan so they could take me when I turn eighteen?” Tara asked as she tried to understand everything he was telling her. “And they want me because I will be able to wield magic, somehow, to make me a killer to kill what or whom?”
“They’re building an army. There are two different kinds of elementals. Dark and light. And a war is on the horizon. Both sides are building armies.”
“And Jax and Elias are on team dark?” She heard the doubt in her voice. She couldn’t see Jax and Elias as evil people. “And you’re, what? Team light?”
“I’m an acolyte for the water elementals, and it’s my job to keep ones like Jax from taking new Marks. It’s my job to keep you safe.” He reached out and took her hand. She stopped pacing and turned to face him. “You don’t belong with them, Tara. You belong with us.”
“I don’t even know who us is,” she said. “I feel like I don’t even know who you are, not really anyway.”
“I’m still Tucker. Just an upgraded version.” He smiled, his dimples making an appearance, giving him that all-American-boy look.
She slipped her hand from his and crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m having a hard time reconciling what you are saying about Elias with the man I know,” she admitted. “I just can’t see him killing anyone.”
Tucker laughed but there was no humor in the sound. “Oh, believe me, he has killed and will keep on killing.”
Her stomach turned at the idea of Elias murdering someone. She didn’t want it to be true. She needed to talk to him. To ask him herself.
“I hate to end this night early, but I really need to process this. It’s a lot.”
“I get that. But I can’t let you go home,” he said.
Tara’s brow drew down. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s not safe, Tara. You need to be protected. If you come with me, I can do that. I can make sure Jax and Elias don’t take you.”
Tara was shaking her head before he even finished speaking. There was no way she was just going to up and disappear. She couldn’t do that to Carol or Shelly.
“You’re good, boy.” A sultry voice filled the air. Tara whipped around, searching for the speaker, but she saw nothing except darkness. “Hell, if I was a vulnerable teenage orphan, I might even believe you myself.”
“Dammit.” Tara heard Tucker spit a curse next to her. “It’s true,” said Tucker.
The voice laughed, a low, sultry sound. Suddenly, a woman came into view, as if she had simply materialized out of thin air. She was dressed in all black. Even her shoulder-length hair was pitch black. She did not look like the sort of woman who should be chaperoning a high school dance. Strapped to both of her thighs were knives, and in her hand was an honest-to-goodness short sword. She swung it in an arc two times in quick succession. She obviously knew how to handle the thing.
“Things just got real,” Tara muttered under her breath.
“Don’t move, Tara,” the woman said.
How the hell does she know my name?
“Elias will be very put out if anything happens to you.”
“Who are you?” Tara asked as she took a step back. The woman looked like she could take on an army by herself and win.
“I’m a friend of Elias and Jax. My name is Zuri, and I’m about to save you from running off with this lying, oxygen-wasting, lowlife, pitiful excuse of an acolyte.”
Tara looked at Tucker, who had gotten to his feet. Now, he, too, held a sword in his hand and somehow, even in a tux, it didn’t look out of place. Where the hell did that come from? He stood with his legs slightly apart and his knees bent, and he bounced a little on the balls of his feet. He was ready for a fight. And by the look on his face, he was eager for it. In fact, the guy standing there staring at Zuri didn’t look like the Tucker she knew at all.
“She’s trying to confuse you, Tara,” Tucker said.
Well, it’s working.
“I’m not going to let you have her,” Tucker practically growled to Zuri. “She’s mine.”
“The hell she is,” Zuri said calmly and happened to take the words out of Tara’s mouth. Whether Tucker was the good guy or not, she wasn’t his.
“We’ll see about that,” said Tucker.
“Do you really want to fight me, boy?” Zuri asked him as she adjusted her stance.
“I’m no boy,” Tucker purred. “And you damn well know it.”
“I’m well aware of your age. But you’re still a babe compared to me.”
Tara’s eyes narrowed as they bounced back and forth between the two. What were they talking about? Tucker was only eighteen. Wasn’t he? And Zuri didn’t look a day over twenty-five, yet she spoke to Tucker as a matron might speak to an insolent child.
Tucker opened his mouth to say something else, but Zuri didn’t give him the chance. She lunged for him as she said, “I’m done talking.” She swung her sword but Tucker was ready. The weapons clashed as they came together, and Tara jumped at the echoing sound. She glanced around to see if anyone else was watching the medieval battle happening right in the middle of their school grounds.
“I’m not here to hurt you, Tara,” Zuri said as she turned away from Tucker, dodging his sword. “I’m here to help. Jax and Elias are not the bad guys. This jerk on the other hand? He’s nothing but bad news.”
“Isn’t that what the bad guy would say? It’s not like you are going to come and say that you want to kidnap me,” Tara pointed out.
Tucker kicked out a foot, trying to sweep the woman’s legs out from underneath her. But she’d anticipated the movement and nimbly leaped over his foot as it passed. Zuri rotated on her feet and swung her sword around. Tara thought it was going to make contact with Tucker’s back, but he whipped around faster than humanly possible.
Tara watched as they continued to battle, their swords flashing. It was clear after only a few seconds who was the better fighter. Tucker was beginning to slow. Beads of sweat were falling from his forehead. He growled and grunted with every lunge, but he never came close to putting a scratch on the woman. Zuri, however, barely moved. With each of Tucker’s sword thrusts, she merely shifted and he whiffed, or she effortlessly blocked his blade with her own.
“Tell me this,” Zuri said without taking her eyes off Tucker. “When you’re with Elias, does it feel like he’s evil? Do you feel unsafe with him? Does your gut tell you to run away from him?”
Her gut definitely told her to run from him but not for the reasons Zuri was suggesting. She’d never felt that Elias was a danger to her. Was he dangerous? Absolutely. To her h
eart, to her fragile emotions, and to her soul. One hundred percent. But not to her safety. She never got the evil vibe from Elias.
“I’m going to take your silence as ‘no’ to each of those questions.” Zuri nonchalantly jumped back from a jab Tucker aimed at her stomach.
Tara worried she was about to see Tucker disemboweled or beheaded, judging on the well-aimed swipe of Zuri’s sword, narrowly missing Tucker’s neck.
“Tara, Seth and Hayden are elemental magic wielders like me,” said Tucker. “They will get you to safety. They will come looking for us any second.”
His words must have ticked Zuri off. Suddenly, the woman’s speed increased. Her sword whipped through the air so fast Tara didn’t know how Tucker could possibly dodge it. And apparently he couldn’t. A second later, he staggered back, his hand wrapped around his shoulder and blood seeping out through his fingers. The sword fell to the ground. Zuri held up a hand, and the ground beneath Tara’s feet rumbled. Tucker fell to his knees. Tara’s mouth fell open as she saw the earth itself rise up and take the form of a human hand attached to a rock-like arm that came from beneath the surface of the ground. The hand grabbed Tucker and clamped down on his ankle.
“Let me go, you bitch!” He struggled, but his foot remained rooted in place.
Before Tara’s mouth could even drop open, the woman was standing next to her. The sword was re-sheathed, slung across Zuri’s back. Eyes wide, Tara pointed to Tucker and began to say something, but her voice was nowhere to be found. A second later, the woman grabbed her and flung Tara over her shoulder. Um, hello? She just picked me up like I weighed nothing. Tara tried to make sense of what was happening, but she couldn’t shake the image of a giant hand coming out of the ground and grabbing her prom date. Vaguely, Tara noticed cars and street signs speeding past her. Then she saw trees and bushes. The woman was running so fast. How can she be running so fast? Another thought quickly followed. Should I be trying to get free? Tara began to thrash and pound the woman on her back. If she felt it, Zuri gave no indication. She merely kept running at an inhuman pace. Tara looked at the ground zooming mere feet below her. She thought about how it might hurt someone to fall and strike the pavement. But Tara knew it wouldn’t hurt her. She redoubled her efforts to escape.