Elemental Betrayal

by Elle Middaugh

  And best of all? We had less than one week to do it in.

  No big deal, right?

  7

  Training was particularly grueling the next day.

  I’d chosen to go with the Waters since I’d gone with the Fires the previous day, but they were on parkour, and that took a lot of physical energy. I was hoping I’d be able to chat with Xavier a bit about Sienna, but I could barely breathe between diving, climbing, jumping, rolling, and running. My body, toned as it had become, was aching by the end.

  I draped my arms over my head to open up my lungs and breathed deeply as I walked over to where Xavier was sitting on a bench.

  “How’s it going?” I asked.

  He was red-faced and huffing. “Peachy. You?”

  I let out a breathless chuckle. “Same, but I meant with Sienna. How are things going there?”

  He hung his head, shook it, then gazed up at me. “Things in that area are virtually nonexistent. I know I’m a bit thickheaded at times, but I’m starting to think she might actually want nothing to do with me.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t believe that. Just give her some more time.”

  He smiled, but it was full of painful sadness that ate at my heart. “It’s been months, Val. I think it’s finally time to just move on. She seems like she’s interested in Kale now, anyway.”

  “Because she asked him to move in? Okay, I know that sounds bad, but I honestly think it was just for my exorbitant amount of overprotection.”

  His smile faded. “Either way, it’s over. I’m just going to have to come to grips with that.”

  “Please don’t,” I practically begged. “Just give it a few more weeks.”

  He shook his head, and I tried even harder.

  “A few more days?”

  Eventually, he sighed. “We’ll see, Val.”

  Dear god, I hoped Madam Lucia had some concrete information for me on communicating with the dead. Helping Sienna get over her self-destructive cycle of failed relationships was the whole reason for doing this in the first place. If Xavier moved on before I could help fix her, the whole mission would almost be for naught. I would go dark for nothing.

  Sienna and Kale walked over from separate directions, and the group fell into an uneasy silence.

  “What?” she asked, glancing around and sensing the tension.

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  Thankfully Cade and Kendrick came over a moment later. My brother had a black bandana tied around his forehead and black sweatbands on his forearms. It was pretty cute on his tiny kid frame.

  Cade, on the other hand…dear Jesus. His arms were pumped up, making them look even bigger than normal, and a thin layer of salty sweat clung to his skin, making the ridges of his muscles even more pronounced. His hair was messy in an extremely sexy kind of way, and I imagined that was what he might look like if I could ever get us past second base. It sent a ripple of pleasure skittering through my veins.

  Cade took in my wide-eyed admiration, if you will, with a cheeky smirk. “You ready to go? I figure we can all grab showers real quick then head out.”

  Kendrick frowned. “Where are you guys going?”

  Cade shrugged. “No idea. It’s Val’s secret, not mine.”

  “Can I come too?” he asked me hopefully.

  I bent down and shook my head. “Sorry, buddy. You’re gonna have to stay here with my dad until we get back.”

  “Why? I promise I’ll be good. You won’t even notice me, I’ll be so quiet.”

  “Nope,” I said, a bit more firmly. “It’s not a mission suitable for kids. Sorry.”

  “Man…” he whined, frowning for a second before his mood brightened. “The last time I stayed with Jameson, he took me out back and threw footballs with me. Maybe he’ll do that again?”

  I nodded excitedly. “Oh, yes. He loves sports of any shape or form. I’m sure he’ll be glad to play some ball with you.”

  “Awesome!”

  After we all showered, Dad came home and took Kendrick out back to play catch, and I gathered my team of bodyguards and led the way to Radford. Of course, no one else knew that was where we were going, at least until we got there.

  Cade crossed his arms at the edge of the forest and stared ahead at the Welcome to Radford sign.

  I could tell he was dying to ask why we were there. His jaw ticked with the itch to ask questions every other minute, but his lips stayed sealed tightly shut. Sienna was having an equally difficult time. Her lips were pursed and her nose was scrunched with a look of disapproval plastered onto her face, and I could tell she regretted ever having agreed to anything so stupid. Kale was too new to the group to comfortably start any sort of conversation, and Xavier was being quiet, too, for some reason—possibly because his revelation from earlier was officially getting him down.

  I took a deep breath and reassured myself that what I was doing was the right thing. Helping my friend out of the darkest time in her life had to count for something good, even if it did somehow make me a bad person.

  Reaching into my pocket, I checked my cell’s GPS.

  Madam Lucia’s shop was only a few hundred yards down Canary Avenue then a hard left turn onto Snap Alley, and it was supposedly the third building on the right.

  I looked over my shoulder at my little entourage. “Almost there.”

  They nodded.

  “The Earth feels secure,” Cade said.

  “As does the Wind,” Sienna added.

  Damn, they took their jobs as bodyguards seriously.

  Xavier’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, uh, there was a pond back there in the woods, and it was definitely clear.”

  Kale nodded vigorously. “And we’re in town, so there are obviously heat signatures, but I don’t think they’re…evil.”

  I grinned and shook my head. The three of us likely would have been fine without the two newest additions, but it was nice to have their goofy asses along for the ride. It kept things from feeling so heavy all the time.

  When we finally stood outside the door to the shop, Cade crossed his arms and stared up at the sign. “Madam Lucia’s Fortunes and Forecasts,” he muttered aloud, almost in disbelief.

  I ignored his statement, because that was part of the deal—I didn’t have to explain myself.

  “You guys wait out here,” I said. “Keep guard and stay sharp. I don’t know how long this will take.”

  Cade put his hands against the brick storefront, effectively caging me in.

  “No. The deal was we’d tag along and protect you with no questions about where we were or what we were doing. I can’t protect you if I’m waiting outside like a puppy on a leash.”

  Sienna put a hand on her hip. “He’s right, Val. This is bullshit.”

  I ducked under Cade’s arm and hugged my best friend. “Trust me, Sienna. I need to talk to her alone. I’ll be out as soon as I can.”

  Cade growled and stormed down the alley, Kale’s mouth hung open like he didn’t know what to say or do, and Sienna and Xavier exchanged a strange look.

  Whatever. This was my only chance to get in there on my own. I opened the door and quickly shut it behind me, twisting the lock as I went.

  The inside was dark except for the natural light filtering in through the storefront window. Since it was dusk, it wasn’t very bright. Every piece of furniture looked handcrafted from solid wood, and all the trinkets and decorations were both odd as well as expensive. There were more dragon statues, because apparently dragons were an element of the fantastical world no matter where you went. Medieval-looking cuckoo clocks adorned the shadowy walls with gargoyles popping out instead of birdies, and the clawfoot armchairs seemed to really have genuine claws at the bottom. Heads of griffons, unicorns, and manticores were mounted on the walls, making me wonder if somehow, somewhere, someone had actually shot one of these mythological creatures as game.

  “Who seeks the guidance of Madam Lucia this evening?” a deep voice asked from the back of the room. It wasn’
t deep like a man’s, but deep like that of a woman who’d been smoking cigarettes for most of her life.

  I cocked my head and stepped closer, reaching out with my Fire senses to make sure we were alone. Only one heat signature came into view, so I quickly released the power.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t already know,” I said, a bit mockingly. “Is that not what your crystal ball is for?”

  She chuckled, and it came out more as a deep-throated cackle.

  “Magic is not so specific, little girl.” She paused, and a plume of smoke rose up from a darkened corner. “My crystal gives me fleeting images, clues to figure out and piece together. Elemental power, though—now that gets more specific. The Wind is telling me you’re a very powerful one, indeed. Not as powerful as our leader, but just as handsome.”

  As I moved closer, I was able to see the bright orange tip of the cigarette clasped between her fingers and the glow of her crystal ball reflecting in her eyes.

  Another puff of smoke permeated the air above her head, and she opened her lips into a toothy grin.

  “You must be Valerie, the traitorous granddaughter.”

  My heart hammered in my chest. If this woman was an Elitist, as it now seemed, would she turn me in? Kill me where I stood? Would she even help me if she didn’t do either of the first two things?

  I approached her table, and she gestured for me to sit in the beastly clawed chair before her. I did, perching at the very edge, ready to flea if necessary.

  “And…do you know why I’m here?” I asked, voice strong and secure despite my hesitation.

  She squinted, but her smile never faltered. “I’m not sure. It looked like you were trying to perform an act of darkness. I saw uttering, closed eyes, blood, smoke, and a backdrop of heavy forest. I saw ghosts, blinding magic, and fear.” She took another drag on her cigarette and contemplated me before exhaling slowly. “Are you sure the course you’re on is the best one?”

  I pursed my lips and tried to appear brave and unconcerned.

  Seriously though—blood? Ghosts? Fear? That shit was absolutely not anything I wanted to be dabbling in. But, if it would help Sienna…

  “I need your help,” I told her eventually.

  She cackled again. “My help isn’t free, little girl. Are you prepared to pay the price?”

  “Money isn’t an object.”

  Dad would probably kill me later, but considering we were on the verge of the apocalypse, I figured it really wouldn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.

  She shook her head, smiling in the darkness. “I don’t want your money.”

  I lifted my chin a bit higher. “Then what?”

  “I want your necklace.”

  My fire opal? It wasn’t even visible through my jacket, so how could she have known about it? Then again, she knew exactly who I was, so she probably also knew about my mother’s “gift” to me. Could I part with it? It was the only thing keeping my unruly Fire element contained. Had I mastered my power enough to do without it?

  Did I actually have a choice?

  Gritting my teeth, I yanked the chain off my neck and held the opal out toward her. It dangled in the glow of the crystal ball, reds, oranges, and pinks flashing as it spun.

  “Yes,” Madam Lucia whispered as her eyes widened. “That will be perfect.”

  I pulled the necklace back and stuffed it in my pocket.

  “First, tell me how to call the dead.”

  She laughed loudly. “My, my, such dark and terrible magic you seek! I’ll ask you once more—are you sure this is what you want?”

  No, I wasn’t sure at all, and my resolve was only slipping more and more with each passing second.

  “Yes.”

  “All right.” She rose from her seat behind the table and breezed over to a bookshelf in the back corner with more grace than a woman her age ought to have, then returned with a book. Its cover was gnarled, like it was made of some sort of old skin, and it had sharp edges, like the tips of black talons. Carefully, she unlocked the metal around the spine and flipped to the proper page by memory. Or, perhaps she’d had a vision of a page number appear in her crystal ball.

  She flipped the book around and tapped the title at the top of the page: Summoning the Dead.

  “Follow the instructions exactly, and you will find what you seek.”

  She held out the book in one hand and awaited the arrival of my necklace in the other. Swallowing hard, I made the trade as quickly as possible for fear she’d go back on her word, but she didn’t. In fact, she looked tickled pink by her new treasure and not concerned in the slightest about losing an extremely dangerous book that practically dripped with dark magic.

  Suddenly, my Fire sense lit up and I sensed a new heat signature entering the room.

  I gasped and shot to my feet, prepared to run, but when the face became visible in the dim light, it wasn’t Nicholai, as I’d feared.

  It was Jay.

  8

  “Hello, Valerie.”

  My lips instantly quivered. The pain of his betrayal still stung like a whip.

  Stashing the book in my jacket, I darted into a run, but Madam Lucia swirled the Wind around my head and began sucking me back toward them.

  Growling, I reached behind me and created an icy wall between us, effectively blocking the pull she had on me, and then started running again.

  This time, Jay used his power over Water to remove my ice, and once again I was being sucked ever closer to them, possibly to my doom.

  Why the hell wasn’t Cade bursting through the doors to save me? Sienna, Xavier, Kale? Had Jay done something to them? Hurt them? Tied them up in that stupid Elemental-proof rope?

  As the Wind pulled at me, I dropped to my knees and clawed at the ground.

  “Enough, Val,” Jay said with a heavy sigh. “I just want to talk.”

  “Like hell you do,” I replied through gritted teeth as I crawled all of one inch in the opposite direction.

  “Lucia, kill the Wind,” he said calmly.

  It vanished, and suddenly, I was face-down on a dirty old hardwood floor.

  “Give us a moment,” he said to her.

  Lucia’s chair made a scraping noise as she moved, followed by the sounds of retreating footsteps and a slamming door.

  I spun around just in time to watch Jay throw a vial of some sort to the floor in front of him. Red smoke curled out and surrounded us, and when I tried to scamper through it, I smacked into it like a solid wall. I realized I was going absolutely nowhere.

  “What the hell is this?” I snarled, fueling up my elements for a fight. Blue flame erupted in my right hand, and a whirlpool of water funneled in my left.

  Jay merely smiled. “It’s a moment in time spell. We’re stuck in this moment until the effects of the spell wear off. Everyone else is frozen mid-breath. They have no idea anything is happening.”

  I ground my teeth until my jaw muscles hurt. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

  “I told you already—I just want to talk.”

  I cocked a brow. “And you just so happened to come prepared with a spell that would trap me in place?”

  He shrugged. “A smart move, don’t you think? We are talking, aren’t we?”

  I snapped my mouth shut, unwilling to give him the conversation he desired—if that was even the truth. Freaking gutless traitor.

  He sighed and walked around the tiny circle of red smoke, gesturing to the vivid color in the air. “I had to kill a Fire Elemental to complete this spell,” he commented offhandedly. Then he pointed to my jacket where I’d stashed the creepy book. “Do you know what sort of sacrifices are required by the incantations in that tome?”

  I pursed my lips, refusing to speak.

  He ran his hands through his fauxhawk and somehow didn’t mess it up. “Listen, Val, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I can tell you right now, this is not the way you want to go.”

  “You don’t know anything about me,” I spat, a
ccidentally breaking my vow to remain silent.

  He smirked. “We were friends, Val. I know you better than you think.”

  “We were never friends, Jay. You played a role, and you played me. I was dumb enough to fall for it, but I won’t make the same mistake twice. Now, tell me what the fuck you want before I unleash this Fire and scorch your dumb ass.”

  He put both hands up and took a healthy step back. “Calm down. I have a deal for you.”

  I scoffed. “From my grandfather and the Elitists?”

  He shook his head. “No. From me.”

  I narrowed my gaze as he crossed his arms before me.

  “I’m already dark, Val. I’ve done some seriously awful things in my life. Let me complete the spell for you, and you can keep your light.”

  “That’s not a deal,” I said, wondering what the catch was. “What’s in it for you?”

  He swallowed hard. “I know what you want that book for. I heard you telling Lucia. You’re going to call the dead.” He paused, and when I didn’t deny it, he kept going. “I want a chance to talk to Charlene again, one last time.”

  My heart melted a little bit, and for a moment, it was like I was with the old Jay, the sweet guy who was wise beyond his years, mourning the girl he loved.

  But if he truly did love Charlene, and if he actually was trying to help me…wouldn’t that make him good in some small way?

  “Are you still with the Elitists?”

  He glowered, but not necessarily at me. “No. I’m not with anyone. If Nicholai ever catches me, I’m sure he’ll make sure I’m never with anyone ever again.”

  “Prove it.”

  He held out both arms. “How? There’s no way to provide any evidence, and you know that. You either believe me or you don’t, but it doesn’t really matter if you do. All I want is the chance to talk to Charlene.”

  Did I really want to involve him in this? To rely on him? To trust him not to screw me over? Then again, did I really want to chance going dark? If I was the key to the Revolutionists overpowering the Elitists and saving humanity from supernatural slavery, could I truly risk jeopardizing that?