elemental 07 - destroyer

by Mayer, Shannon

  “I’m okay,” I said.

  “You are not okay!” snapped Talan. He seemed more flustered than usual and I didn’t understand why. I must have whispered “why.”

  “Why?” He spat the word back at me. “We have been trying to keep you and Raven away from Viv for the last fifty years and what do you do? You go and tangle with some of her creations and pull them APART!” He roared the last word and I flinched.

  “Would’ve you had me leave Raven to die?”

  “I’d have you run. You did the impossible, Lark. THE IMPOSSIBLE.” He was breathing hard, his hair and eyes wild like he was truly scared. Maybe I should have been more afraid, but I couldn’t pull up any fear at all.

  “Talan, she is going to find us eventually,” I said.

  “I wanted to train you so you aren’t such a damn sitting duck.”

  Raven sat up between us. “You think she’s a sitting duck? Come off it, Talan. You want to be the one to train her so you can say that you trained the Destroyer. You want to go down in history with her. But the reality is, you can’t keep her under lock and key. She will always find a way to freedom. Be her mentor, but follow where she leads. Not the other way around.”

  I could have hugged him. But I settled for a grateful look sent his way.

  Talan shook his head again. “Damn you two. All these years, all this work flushed down the proverbial drain.”

  He seemed to be at a loss, so I helped him out. “You created this monster I am, this wild and independent elemental who bows to no one, and now you’re surprised I won’t just let you run my life and dictate my future?”

  Raven laughed. “Shit.”

  Above us, Shazer circled, his tail flicking and his ears pinned to his head. No doubt being left behind had irritated him. I was surprised he didn’t try to take a shit on Talan.

  I leaned forward as I lifted a hand and pointed at the Pegasus. “Shazer is taking us to Viv, and that’s assuming the demon dog doesn’t do her some damage, or hopefully kill her. Come with us, Talan. Maybe we can stop this before it goes any further if we work together.”

  His jaw twitched and danced as we bobbed along in the water. We were being propelled by Raven’s connection to the ocean, the lines of blue on his arm clear and bright. I looked over my shoulder, a sudden prickling along the back of my neck making me twitch. I leaned over the edge of the boat and stared into the water. Three dark shapes shot past us and I jerked back.

  “What is that?” I stared at the trajectory of the shapes that were moving far too fast for any creature. Far too fast for anything I’d ever encountered. The warship behind us. The dark shapes in the water below.

  “Talan.”

  “Yeah, this is going to be bad,” he breathed.

  “Raven, can you help me move the ship?” I stood and Raven stood with me.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll block the torpedoes; you move the ship.” I grabbed his hand and opened myself to Spirit. “See if this helps.” It was all I could think of doing. Maybe a boost of power would give him enough to move the boat, as I tapped into the earth to try and block the torpedoes.

  “Holy shit,” he hissed the words and then lifted his other hand. The ocean bucked upward in something that looked like an instant tidal wave. There was no warning, no precursor, just water bursting upward in a wall that lifted the ship off the sand pile I’d created that had held the ship in place as a perfect sitting duck.

  The wave moved forward, shoving the massive ship ahead of it as I pushed upward with the sand bar I’d placed under the hull. My heart beat wildly as I fed my power into Raven, pushing for all I was worth while simultaneously moving the earth around, doing all I could to block the oncoming explosives.

  “Enough, Lark, I can’t hold that much.” He was breathless, and I wanted nothing more than to take the reins of his power and do what had to be done. Because he hadn’t moved the ship enough. I let go of his hand and called the sand up again, tried to block the torpedoes.

  I felt them pass through the loose sand. I couldn’t bring it together fast enough to even slow them down.

  The bottom of the warship’s hull took the first impact. There was a muted boom and the ship shuddered. The men screamed and then another boom, and another. All three torpedoes had hit their target.

  “Guided missile systems,” Talan said softly as the ship in front of us cracked and began a slow descent into the ocean. “The humans aren’t just after us, they are after one another.”

  There was no thought to what I was going to do, but as I took a step toward the edge of the boat, Talan put his hand on my arm as if he’d read my mind. “The best way to help them is to stop Viv and this war. These men were on their way to face Finley and the Deep. Their deaths were already written.”

  “You want me to let them drown? Let them disappear into the depths?” I jerked away from him and he let out a sigh.

  “Yes, it is a kinder fate than what is coming for them.”

  But the thing was, I couldn’t get the face of the human man out of my mind, the one with the brown eyes who’d been willing to help me even though he was obviously outclassed. He’d offered when no one else had. That deserved an effort on our part to save lives.

  I dove into the water and Peta leapt in after me. I felt her bond and knew at least I would never be alone, no matter the decisions I made.

  I popped up through the surface of the water, took a breath and kept moving forward. Behind me there was another splash and in seconds Raven caught up to me.

  “Why are you helping?” I asked as we headed toward the ship.

  “Because you’re right. You never know when someone might need us, and might in turn be the key to changing the world.”

  “That’s not what I said.” I kept swimming as we talked, mostly to keep my mind from disappearing into memories and the feeling of jaws on my legs, the feeling of not being able to breathe and air being so very, very close even while the water filled my body. My jaw twitched.

  Another splash behind us. “I’m surprised Talan is coming along,” I said.

  “I am not in the water, and I suggest you two idiots get out,” Talan called. “You cannot save these humans. Stop being childish.”

  I spun in the water and Peta kitty-paddled beside me. “Lark?”

  “Yes?”

  “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Damn it, so did I.

  CHAPTER 17

  The thing was, water in general had not been kind to Peta nor me in all our adventures together. Maybe it was the feline nature in her, and the answering feline shifter nature in me. But water and what resided in it had always been an issue from the minute I’d stepped into the Deep the first time.

  “Shit.” I spat out a mouthful of salt water with the word.

  Raven was beside me and he took my hand. “We’re going back to the boat, right now.”

  There was a tug and a pull in my middle and I blinked several times because I went from floating in the water to standing in the boat with very little motion. He’d ridden Spirit away from danger. But he’d left someone behind.

  “Lark!” Peta screamed my name from out in the water.

  “You left Peta!”

  I moved to dive into the water but Raven stopped me. “I’ll get her.”

  He was gone, literally disappearing in front of me and then he was beside Peta in the water. She climbed onto his shoulder as a flurry of triangular fins swam around my girl.

  Shaking, I didn’t dare breathe. One of the sharks was going for them, mouth open, teeth jagged with death written all over them.

  A blink and Raven was back in the boat. The shark bit down on nothing, flicked its tail and headed for the boat.

  Peta leapt from Raven to me and I clutched her to me.

  Talan put a hand on my arm. “Raven, follow us to the shore.”

  “Wait, what about Shazer?”

  My words were lost in a moment of fuzziness in what I understood was Riding Spi
rit with Talan. Something I knew I needed to learn more than ever.

  Before I could do more than take a breath, my feet were on solid ground once more. Though I didn’t know for how long. And by the flora and fauna I could see around the edges of the beach, we were nowhere near the Deep and the coastline there. Talan had taken me somewhere else entirely.

  “Where are we?” I backed away from him, still holding a shivering Peta close to my chest. Thank the goddess Peta’s bond with me made it so she didn’t count as an extra body.

  “We are on the shoreline of Spain. It is a grounding point Raven knows about. Why he wouldn’t bring you here in the first place is beyond me,” Talan snapped as he began to pace the sand. A few minutes later, Shazer appeared in the sky, Raven on his back. Talan stiffened.

  “That Pegasus is not coming with us.”

  “Viv made him. He can help us find her,” I said, irritation flowing through me.

  Talan spun around. “Yes, and she can find us through him. She knows he is your pet. She knows you care for him; that is why she gave him to you. He may be your friend, but he could cost us everything. He may have already.”

  Peta struggled in my arms as I just stared at Talan. “He… I think he is right, Lark. You know it yourself; you can find me anywhere if you truly search for me.”

  She was right, but that didn’t make me feel any better about what it was Talan was saying. “Then we free him from his bonds now. We send him back as the elemental he was so long ago.”

  Talan drew a slow breath and nodded. “All right. But it will show her your hand yet again. The more she knows you are capable of—”

  “Doesn’t matter now,” I said. “She knows we are her enemies. She knows I am the one who will find and free your siblings. Does anything else really matter?”

  Talan and I stared at each other as Raven and Shazer landed.

  Talan nodded. “I’ll get a witch who can help us.”

  Raven stiffened at those words but Talan disappeared before he could say anything. “Shit.”

  “Why shit?” I glanced at him, unable to look at Shazer.

  “I don’t want my daughter hurt any more than she has been.” He rubbed a hand over his face.

  Pamela… of course he would worry for her.

  There was a space of only a few minutes before Talan was back, dragging a woman with him. Correction, a witch. “Let me go, Tal, my daughter will panic if I’m not home when she wakes.” She jerked her arm from him and he let her go. I stared at her wondering if we’d met. She had long dark hair and dark eyes, and if I were to guess her age, I would place her in her mid-thirties. She wore a long skirt that swept the sand and a peasant blouse as though she was still living as a witch from the medieval era. I arched an eyebrow. “She’s strong enough?”

  The witch pulled herself up. “I am one of the most powerful witches this world has left, so you better hope I be strong enough for whatever this one wants.” There was a Scottish undertone to her words.

  Talan beckoned her forward. “I’ve known Meghan for a few years and she knows the spell we need.”

  She pushed up her sleeves. “The horse is the one trapped?”

  Shazer snorted. “Pegasus.”

  She went to his side and put her hands on his neck. “Which one of you be helping me do this?”

  I stepped forward and Shazer stepped away from her and me. “What the hell is going on?”

  “We’re giving you back your original form,” I said.

  He gave me a frown, his eyes narrowing. “You still need my help, Lark.”

  I closed my eyes. “Viv can find us through you. We need to break the bond between the two of you.”

  He snorted. “Well, that is just plain shitty. You sure about that?”

  “That is why I kept you penned up and sedated as I did,” Talan said.

  Well, there was that question answered at least. I let out a breath. “Meghan, I will be the one helping you do this. Do you have any words of advice?” I needed to learn how to do this if I was going to save Ash. If I was going to bring him back from being a golden eagle.

  “You feed me your power. No witch is strong enough to truly do this on her own, but with an elemental backing them, the theory is it will work.” Her eyes were on mine. “The only question is, will you be strong enough?”

  I gave her a smile, not taking offense at all. She did not know me. “I think I’ll manage.”

  She glanced over her shoulder and then leaned into me. “A word of caution. What has been done for too long, cannot be undone without a cost. Remember that.”

  I gave her a nod, and brushed her words aside.

  I wished later that I’d taken more care with her advice.

  I moved up beside her and Shazer took a step toward us. “I’d like a minute alone with Lark before we do this.”

  That surprised me, but Meghan backed as did the others. He dropped his head so his nose rested against the skin of my collarbone, his lips moving across it as he spoke. “I do not know what will happen when you turn me back to my former self, Lark. I… I am afraid that I was cast into this shape as punishment. I don’t remember who I was and it took me many, many years to find the ability to speak.” His lips tickled me, but I kept still.

  “You will still be my friend, Shazer. Though I suppose you may recall your real name and I must learn to call you by it.” I smiled. “This isn’t goodbye. If you pissed off Viv then, you were her enemy, and I am her enemy so we’ll be all good.”

  His dark eyes were still worried. “What if it kills me?”

  I swallowed hard. “Talan would have said something, wouldn’t he?”

  Peta trotted forward. “I overheard him, and he has a point.”

  He dropped his nose to her. “I knew I liked you from time to time, pussy.”

  She batted a paw at his nose. “The shift after this long could kill him. We aren’t talking about a few years, or even only ten or fifteen. We’re talking about a few thousand. I heard what Meghan said.”

  “This isn’t helping,” I said. I swallowed hard, thinking. “Talan, tell me we can do this safely.”

  “It can be done safely,” he answered, smooth as butter.

  Peta put a paw against Shazer’s lower leg. “This needs to be Shazer’s choice, not Talan’s. Or even yours.”

  I nodded, reached out and touched Shazer just behind his ear. “It is your choice; she is right about that. Do you want to return to your previous shape if we can do that?”

  He was quiet a long time. “I don’t know. Alive and stuck like this, I am still alive at least.” A flicker of fear flashed through his big dark eyes. I pressed my head to his.

  “I understand.” I would miss him, but if Talan was right, then Shazer would have to go. Much as I hated it.

  I stepped back from him and turned around. “It’s not happening.”

  Meghan lifted an eyebrow. “The wee pony is right to be scared.”

  Shazer stomped a foot behind me and I held an arm out to stop him from charging her. “Not without reason. He’s held this shape for thousands of years; no one truly knows what will happen if it’s taken from him. Or if he’d even survive it.”

  Talan stood a solid twenty feet from us and even at that distance I could see the irritation in his face, the flick of muscles along his jaw.

  Talan stalked forward. “He is a liability that you cannot see because he is your friend!”

  We were nose to nose, neither of us backing down. I refused to give up on Shazer.

  Behind me, he butted his nose into my lower back.

  “Lark. Let them try then.”

  “No, you said you didn’t want to.” I didn’t look back at him.

  “Let them try.” The resignation in his voice cut through my heart.

  Talan shook his head. “She will never forgive me, but I will hold you to those words, Shazer.”

  My eyes widened and the power of Spirit whirled around him.

  I went to my knees, frozen in place. “Ta
lan, don’t you dare!”

  Raven ran across the beach. I heard the first pulse of wings, but I knew it wasn’t enough.

  Seconds later, Shazer followed Talan to a place in front of me. Raven was on his knees, too, and Peta sat as if frozen.

  “This is what will happen if you try to bring someone back. Someone who does not have the heart to shift. Someone like your Ash.” Talan bit the words out.

  He flicked his hand at Meghan and she went to his side, trembling.

  “Talan, do not do this,” she whispered.

  “This is a lesson she will learn. That no one can be trusted. That her friends are not with her. That she cannot do everything.” His eyes hardened. “Learn this lesson well, Lark. Seeing as you would learn nothing else from me.”

  What if Viv had put a booby trap inside of Shazer, too, like she’d done to the gargoyles? I could only hope the same trap that had lain in wait for me would take Talan. But somehow, I doubted it.

  Meghan stepped up beside him again and reached around his middle, shaking. “One hand on the heart, one hand on the head.” She placed her hands accordingly and bowed her head. “You put your hands over mine, Elemental, then open your power to me.”

  I looked Shazer in the eye and he winked at me. “Lark, this is not your fault.”

  Talan stepped into position, reaching around Meghan. “It is her fault, for being childish. For being stupid. You lose those you love when you think you know it all.”

  I realized then that Talan did not expect Shazer to survive.

  “Talan, stop! I will learn.”

  “Lies.” He breathed the word. “You are right, Lark. You only learn one way. Pain. Suffering. They have always been the best tools.”

  “Please, stop!”

  My words fell on deaf ears. I fought the bonds he’d placed on me like never before. Talan was not my friend. He was not trying to help me, but hurt me.

  And he was going to murder Shazer.

  Shazer began to breathe harder, the air flowing in and out of him in huge gulps as though he were running. His body shivered and his skin twitched, but I could see nothing changing.