Contents
Title
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Exesor
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Abyssus
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
More books from Cathy McAllister
About Cathy McAllister
Volcan's Fire
The Guardians of the Elements I
b y C a t h y M c A l l i s t e r
Fantasy Romance
Volcan's Fire
The Guardians of the Elements I
Cathy McAllister
English Edition 2012
copyright © 2012, Cathy McAllister
Blog: http://www.cathymcallister-books.co.uk
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The right of Cathy McAllister to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 & 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without the written permission from the author. You must not circulate this book in any format. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. For permission requests, write to the author at the following email-address: [email protected]
All characters and actions in the following work are fictional. Any resemblance to either living or deceased people is coincidental.
Prologue
Summer 1996
Coreena bent down to the beautiful flower and picked it. Carefully she put this flower with the others that she had already picked. She was on a picnic with her parents in the countryside. Her mother was sitting with a book on the checked picnic blanket and was not to be disturbed. Her father lay snoring under a tree, his hat pulled tightly over his face. She had no brothers or sisters and the place that her father had chosen for their picnic was some distance from other day-trippers. There were no children here that Coreena might have played with. So she had set about picking a posy of flowers for her mother and she had already moved quite a long way from her parents. Her thoughts were completely fixated upon finding the most beautiful flowers. She had forgotten about everything else around her.
“Coreena,” she was suddenly aware of a voice. “Coreena!”
She looked around but could not see anyone. Her heart was pounding.
“Where are you?” she asked, a little uncertainly.
“Here! Over here!” The voice came from the direction where the bushes became denser and denser, and where huge trees shaded everything.
Coreena took a few steps towards the shrubbery and paused, undecided. She did not know this man at all, because it was a man’s voice calling out to her, and her parents had warned her often enough. There were evil men everywhere and even though the voice sounded vaguely familiar to her, that was still no guarantee that she was not wandering into the trap of an evil man. She did not actually have a clear idea of what would then happen, but her parents had been very serious about this matter and had said that it was the worst thing that could happen to a little girl and that it would really hurt.
“Coreena! Come to me!” called the voice again.
“Why don’t you come here to me?” asked Coreena.
She was, in fact, very curious to know who knew her name, but she wanted to be careful. She did not want anyone to do bad things to her and hurt her.
“I can’t. Come on, Coreena, I won’t hurt you. You know me. You’ve had dreams about me.”
Coreena stepped a little closer. Now she was really curious, and curiosity had always been her weakness.
“I’ve had dreams about you? But then you can’t be here. I’m not dreaming right now, am I?”
She heard pleasant laughter. An evil man could not laugh so nicely. Or could he? In films evil people always had a nasty laugh.
“No, princess, you’re wide awake,” was the stranger’s answer to her question. “But I’m here. Don’t you want to see me, then?”
“Volcan?” she asked, her heart fluttering.
“Yes, princess. It’s me,” the voice confirmed.
Coreena was suddenly very excited. Her dreams had begun six months before, when she turned six. In every dream a man appeared and showed her a wonderful world. He rode through the air with her on a huge, black, winged horse, and he showed her dwarves and elves. But, strangely, she had never seen him. He had always just been a shadow. But he was a shadow that she trusted, who had even driven away the nightmares that had previously tormented her now and then.
“Don’t you trust me? I would never hurt you, princess. You know that.”
“I do! I trust you, if you’re really the man from my dreams.”
“And I am. Come and see for yourself!”
Coreena slowly walked on, deeper and deeper into the undergrowth, until she saw him. He was standing in a small clearing. Actually, he was not exactly standing. It was more like he was floating, as his feet were not touching the ground. He was big, bigger than her father. His fiery red hair almost reached his hips. He was wearing trousers made of a strange material that reminded Coreena of the skin of a salamander, and on his left arm he wore an arm guard from his shoulder to his wrist, that looked like a scaly ant-eater. Apart from that, his upper body was unclothed. His chest was decorated with a sort of tattoo that looked like scales. When she walked closer to him her eyes fell upon his radiant green eyes, which looked at her in a friendly way. He smiled at her, encouraging her on, and stretched out his hand to her.
“Come closer, Coreena. Don’t be afraid of me. I’m your friend. You can trust me.”
“Are you definitely not an evil man?” asked Coreena, still a little uncertain.
“No, I won’t hurt you. I need to talk to you, princess, but not here. Come with me!” He stretched out his hand invitingly.
“But my mum and dad,” she interjected. She turned round, and only now did she register how far she had strayed from her parents.
“Don’t worry. You’ll only be gone for a moment. Trust me.”
She went closer and took his outstretched hand. His grip was firm and warm, inspiring trust. He pulled her to him and held her in his strong arms. She felt her doubts and fears fading. He was her friend. She felt that with the whole of her little girl’s heart.
“Close your eyes and only open them when I tell you to. OK?”
She nodded and closed her eyes. A strange feeling overcame her, as if she was floating. She was tempted to open her eyes, just a tiny bit, to see whether she was really floating. Her childish curiosity was so huge. Who would want to keep their eyes closed when having such an adventure? He would not notice if she just blinked a tiny bit.
“No,” he said gently. “Don’t open them.”
“How did y
ou know…?” she asked, astonished.
He laughed quietly.
“I know everything about you, princess.”
Suddenly there was a jolt, and the strange feeling disappeared.
“Now open your eyes.”
Coreena did as he said and uttered a cry of surprise. The huge, black, winged horse was standing in front of her. It was even bigger than she had thought. She carefully stretched out her hand and felt his silky coat.
“Am I dreaming again?”
“No, princess. This is Ateo. We’re in Ignigena. This is my kingdom. Look around. You know this place already.”
“Yes, from my dreams. I’ve been here in my dreams,” said Coreena, looking around in amazement.
In front of them lay a landscape of volcanos and lakes. Behind them was a huge forest with large, old trees, which seemed familiar to her. She looked at Volcan in confusion.
“How is that possible? Who are you? And why have you brought me here?”
“I am Volcan, the Guardian of Fire. This is my kingdom. I reign over the element of fire. I’ve brought you here to explain to you what your destiny is.”
“My destiny?” asked Coreena, shocked.
“You have been chosen to be my queen. Not straight away, of course. After all, you’re still a little girl,” he explained, smiling.
“I’m already six!” replied Coreena, quite seriously.
He grinned at her and winked.
“Yes, you’re already quite big, but you can only become my queen when you’re a grown woman.”
“When will that be?” asked Coreena.
She was excited by the thought of becoming a queen. What girl did not dream of being taken by a fairy-tale prince, like Volcan, into his enchanted kingdom, and being made into his queen? She loved fairy tales and now she was in the middle of one.
“When you’re twenty one,” Volcan replied to her question.
“Oh!”
Coreena was a little disappointed about having to wait so long.
“I will always protect you. There are powers that want to prevent our marriage.”
“What sort of powers?”
“The evil powers: Exesor, Invidus, Mendax, Lucifer. They will try to either destroy you or to prevent us finding one another. But you don’t need to be afraid now. Until you’re grown up I’ll always be with you. You won’t see me, but I will always guard over you. By the time you’re back in your world, you will have forgotten that I exist. But I will protect you.”
“But I don’t want to forget you,” said Coreena, her heart pounding. He was her friend and she did not want to lose him.
Volcan sat down and tapped the floor next to him.
“Sit down with me, princess.”
Coreena sat down next to him and he gently laid his arm around her little shoulders. Full of trust, she leant against him.
“When you’re big, I’ll come to you – not looking like this, though, but in my human form.”
“Are you not a human, then?”
“No, princess, I’m a guardian.”
“Hmm, but how will I recognise you?”
“In my human form I don’t look very different from this,” said Volcan. “Just my ears and my hair are different, and, of course, my clothing.”
Coreena looked up at him and pushed his red hair aside. The ear that appeared under there was longer than a normal ear and ended in a point. It did not bother her that he had ears like that. She found it sort of nice.
“But it doesn’t matter anyway, if I look different,” said Volcan. “When I come to you, you’ll have no memory of me. We have to find one another first.”
“But why?” asked Coreena. “That’s stupid!”
“That’s how destiny is,” replied Volcan, laughing.
“But why are you telling me all of this if I’m going to forget it all straight away?”
“You won’t remember, but I have to give you something.”
He took a small box out of a bag that was tied onto his belt and gave it to her.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Open it,” he answered, smiling.
She opened the box and uttered a cry of delight. In the box was a chain with a flame-shaped pendant. In the middle of the flame was a ruby. She had never seen anything so beautiful.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered in rapture, and she looked up at him and gave him a beaming smile.
“Because of this chain I’ll always be with you. Wear it all the time.”
“But if I’m going to forget everything…?”
“You’ll forget me and where you got the chain from, but deep down inside you’ll know that you must wear it. You just won’t be aware of why.”
“And what should I tell my Mum? She’ll ask me where I got the chain from.”
“When you go back, your mother will just remember that she gave it to you for your birthday – just as you and everyone else will believe.”
“I don’t understand. How can that happen?”
“Just trust me. It will all happen as I’ve described. And now I’m taking you back.”
He put his arms around her, and without him needing to say anything, she closed her eyes. Again she felt as if she were floating, until they landed with a jolt again and she opened her eyes. They had arrived in exactly the spot where she had found him.
“We’ll meet again, princess,” he said, and he disappeared before her eyes.
Chapter 1
March 2011
Coreena looked at her watch. It was already nearly two o’clock and her client would arrive at any moment. She sighed. Yet again she had not managed to take a lunch break. Her stomach was rumbling loudly, and she opened the top drawer of her desk, grabbed the paper bag with the chicken sandwich in it, and opened it. Hungrily, she took a huge bite, just as a knock came at the door, and her secretary, Phillis, Phil for short, put her head in.
“Your client, Miss Tanner.”
Coreena hastily put the sandwich back into the drawer and gulped down the piece in her mouth. Crumbs got stuck in her throat and she started coughing. When she looked up, the most beautiful man that she had ever seen was standing before her. Her heart missed a beat and she gasped for air like a fish on dry land. Butterflies danced in her belly and she could feel herself blushing. The man had short, copper-coloured hair, and he was wearing tight, black, leather trousers and a white shirt, with a long, black, leather coat over the top. Coreena attempted, inconspicuously, to wipe her fingers on a serviette, as they were still sticky with mayonnaise from her sandwich.
That was so typical of her – meeting her dream man and immediately giving a great impression of herself! What must this man now be thinking of her? She could not even eat a stupid sandwich properly, and she was also blushing like an immature teenager. How embarrassing!
The man looked at her, clearly amused. His eyes shone and the corners of his mouth twitched as he contained his laughter. Then he gave her a winning smile and put his hand out to her.
“Miss Tanner? I am Volcan Custos,” he said with a pleasantly deep voice.
Coreena breathed in deeply and took his hand. His touch caused an arousingly warm, tingling sensation. She raised her head and their eyes met. His were an unbelievably radiant green colour. She had never seen such extraordinary eyes. She suddenly tensed up. This was not the way she usually was – she was usually self-assured and eloquent. She knew that she had to respond with something, but her lips could simply not form any words. She could only stare at him, her own hand still in his large hand.
‘Damn it, Coreena! Kindly pull yourself together!’ she urged herself.
“I… um… I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Custos. Coreena Tanner.”
“The pleasure is mine!” he said in a husky voice, and bent over her hand to delicately kiss it.
The touch of his lips on the back of her hand electrified her body. The sudden wish to feel these lips on her mouth, too, not to mention on other parts of her body, bewildered her,
and she rapidly pulled her hand away.
‘Wow! This one is a bit too hot for you, Coreena Tanner! You’re going to burn your fingers on this one!’
Mr. Custos, shall we sit over there?” she asked, and pointed at some brown leather seats at the far end of the large room.
“Gladly.”
They went to the seating area next to a huge panoramic window.
“Would you like a coffee or an alcoholic drink?” asked Coreena, who had composed herself a little, once she had put some distance between herself and this bewildering man.
“An espresso and a scotch, if you have some.”
“Would you be so kind, Phil?”
“On its way,” answered the secretary and disappeared.
“Now, Mr. Custos, what can I do for you?” asked Coreena, once seated.
“I recently bought up B&L and I would like to try to return the company to its original prestigious position. In order to do that I do, of course, need a completely new and absolutely unique marketing strategy. I’ve been told that you’re the best. And I only want the best.”
“I’m honoured by your trust in my work. You’ve also been told, I’m sure, that I’m expensive and difficult. If I undertake this job, then you’ll have no further say in it – what I say, goes.” She felt her self-assurance returning and relaxed a little.
“The price is of no matter to me. All that counts is the result. And I have no problem with you making all the decisions – at least, not professionally.” He winked at her and she became decidedly too hot. “You’re an ambitious woman and I like that. OK. You make the decisions about the campaign and I’ll decide upon the restaurant that we go to tonight.”
Volcan's Fire (Guardians of The Elements #1) Page 1