The Beginning: A Natura Elementals Novella Duology

by Sloane Calder

  “So, you do what…?” He couldn’t escape his father’s words.

  Foussés have always been the muscle.

  What the hell did that mean? His dad was a good man. The best. Long on patience, short on…well, nothing. His father got along with everyone.

  His mom clasped her fists against her chest.

  “I handle Naturas who think to undermine Seanair or cause problems humans can’t rationalize as natural disasters.”

  Okay. Stopping bad Naturas. Which was certainly how his dad had earned a reputation for being a fair and honorable man.

  “How do you handle the problems?” Sweat steamed beneath his sweatshirt, and he tugged at the collar.

  “I strive to work things out peacefully. I offer several sit-downs and hear their grievances.”

  Relief scattered through him. Why’d he been so worried?

  “What if sit-downs don’t work? Is there, like, a Supreme Court or something for Naturas?”

  “It’s time for some hard truths, Aleron.” His mother blew a harsh breath from her nose. “There’s no jail for Naturas. There’s no reasoning with people who can level cities with their power. If Naturas don’t comply with your father’s requests, he removes them before they cause devastation.”

  Remove. A kind word for kill.

  A weird static crackled in Aleron’s ears like his brain had shorted out. He pulled free of his parents’ grasps, and his gaze fixed on the fireplace. Bill Foussé relocated cockroaches and spiders out of the house. He rescued injured animals and took them to veterinary clinics. Just last week, he’d found a baby squirrel in the driveway and driven the tiny, hairless thing twenty miles to a squirrel sanctuary.

  Question after question burst like kernels of popped corn. He tried to remember the last time his dad had been gone for a while or appeared stressed. He traveled a good bit, but Uncle Maddox’s private plane brought him home most nights.

  His thoughts shuffled and lined up in a new order, falling like perfectly placed dominoes.

  The multiple cell phones. The locked study. The occasional mornings his mother smelled of stale wine.

  His insides did a progressive collapse. The knot in his throat dropped to his stomach and clattered in his gut.

  “Uncle Maddox doesn’t have a plane, does he?”

  “No,” his dad said.

  “How many people have you…removed?”

  The light in his dad’s eyes dimmed.

  “More than my soul can take. We can’t allow Seanair to continue to wear the cuff. Ask any Fire around the world, and they’ll tell you they feel off. The increase in wildfires isn’t caused by humans or lightning strikes. It’s from Naturas who are fed up.”

  “Fires are burning down forests?” He looked to his mom, hoping for some reassurance.

  The woman always made everything better.

  She straightened, the hardness back in her blue eyes, the set of her shoulders more military than maternal.

  “It’s not just a Fire issue. Airs can’t control their rage. Look at the increase in tornadoes and hurricanes,” his mother said, her voice tinged with bitterness. “All Naturas are suffering, but with Seanair as head of North America, him relinquishing his cuff to an emissary would force the other bearers to do the same.”

  His dad hung his head. “We met as boys, and I know Ali—Seanair as well as my own family.” His dad sat up, flame-straight. “War among the families is brewing. Relinquishing the cuff to an emissary would ease tension within the global Fire community, ensuring their continued loyalty to Seanair. And maybe ensure Southern California doesn’t burn to the ground.”

  Aleron struggled to digest the truth. Fire Naturas were burning thousands of acres. Seanair was part of the problem. His dad, the most honorable man he knew, killed other Naturas. And his mom…hell, even the twins didn’t make her this pissed. She looked ready to suck the air from someone’s lungs.

  “You’re Seanair’s right hand,” Aleron said, still not understanding his dad’s need for secrecy. “Don’t you have check-ins, meetings, whatever?”

  “Our world’s a mess right now,” his dad replied, his tone more shitstorm than minor problem. “Seanair’s also a little…overly cautious.”

  The big Natura boss couldn’t take the time to meet with his number-one guy? Like seriously? His dad was the most dependable, honorable person on the freakin’ planet. Seanair sounded more like a pompous headcase with too much power.

  “Sounds like the guy’s paranoid.” Aleron didn’t try to hide his derision.

  “Seanair has every reason to be careful but nothing to fear from me, which is why I’m going in without my power. He has many enemies, and I want him to be certain of my loyalty.”

  Going in buck naked from a power perspective didn’t seem like the best option, but man, his dad’s tanned face seemed almost pale. The room’s temp had jacked up, and his mom’s positivity had disappeared. He should cut the questions, trust the smartest, best man he’d ever known, and get this emissary mission thing done.

  “All I have to do is place the relic on the temple door and hold on to your power?” he asked, his body strangely numb.

  “That’s it. Now that Seanair’s announced his observance of Winter’s Hail, I have to act. It’s an in-and-out job. You’ll go in, place the relic, and leave. Seanair won’t sense you. There’ll be a car waiting to take you back to the plane, and I’ll handle it from there.”

  Wait. “Plane? I thought you just said there was no plane.”

  His mother somehow sat up even straighter. “We…I still have some connections. It’s not important right now.”

  “Can I see it?” He nodded toward the relic.

  His mom handed him the box and sat back in her chair, the strain slowly leaving her face. “Keep the relic inside the container until you’re ready to place it. It will automatically adhere itself to wood. It’s an old Earth tool that’s been in my family a long time.”

  “You have Earths in your family?” His mom’s side was 100 percent Air and proud of it.

  “It was stolen some time ago, well before I was born. I’m not proud of how we attained it, but my family has held on to it so we could use it at the right time.” His mother’s gaze darkened, any sign of relief gone.

  “Place the relic on the door, where it will stick. Got it,” he said, still not so sure about his dad’s part. “What if Seanair won’t listen? What if he won’t relinquish the cuff?”

  “It won’t come to that,” his dad said. “Seanair trusts me, but I need to catch him when he’s thinking with his heart and not his head. I hate having to ask you to do this, but only someone without power can get close enough to the chapel, and I can’t transition my power to anyone who’s not an Alpha Fire. As much as I’d like to keep you in the dark a little longer, it’s time you learned the truth of what we are.”

  He looked to his mom, his dad. Goddess, they were everything.

  “You can count on me.” His unease returned to rights. His throat clogged, but he pushed out the words. “I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

  Always. For his parents. His brothers. He’d love, protect, and help them all.

  Tears streamed down his mom’s face.

  His dad’s big brown eyes shimmered. “We love you, too, son, more than you’ll ever know.”

  Aleron ground his jaw before the meeting turned into the Foussé snot festival.

  “There’s a reason I’m top of my Fire class. I got this, you guys. Promise,” he said, willing to say anything to smooth the lines creasing his parents’ faces.

  Something shifted inside him and pushed aside his worry. His parents had confided in him, trusted him with the truth, wanted him to step up, be a man, help his element.

  Hell yeah, he’d help.

  No problem.

  And together, he and his dad would fix Fire.

  It’d been the busiest week of Aleron’s life. Going to school, taking his finals, and then coming home. Reviewi
ng land surveys. The chapel layout. Staring at the wooden box atop the bureau in his bedroom.

  Chill, man. Tonight’s the mission. Tomorrow…Caitlin.

  In. Bed.

  He shifted his hold on the box in his lap. Maybe his imagination had kicked into overdrive, but he swore he sensed a pull at his skin. A long inhale drawing out the hairs on his arms and neck. A slow, steady sniff like an animal awakened, alerted to possible prey.

  He looked around the interior of the private aircraft—and not some baby jet either. Oversize seats in buttercream leather, four to each pod, were grouped throughout the large cabin with enough room to recline even with a table in the middle.

  He and his dad had taken window seats across from each other, with Aleron facing the rear. Classical music played softly through the speakers. Looking down, he noticed one of his bootlaces had come untied, and he reached to fix it. Damn nice boots. Clothes, too, made from high-tech fabric that kept his body cool and didn’t swish when he moved.

  Military-grade gear for a mission he still couldn’t believe he’d been asked to join.

  He toyed with the leather necklace, unused to wearing any kind of jewelry. The vessel—or rather, his mother’s ring—hung heavy at the end of the long cord.

  “Better eat up.” His dad nodded toward Aleron’s plate.

  The scent of grilled onions and meat made his mouth water.

  “Last thing I need is to puke Philly cheesesteak running toward my target.” To appease his dad, he picked up half of the hot sandwich and took a bite. He chewed, holding up a finger as he finished, still in disbelief his grandparents had ponied up both the plane and the relic. “I’m glad Mom’s not here.”

  A smile of contentment came over his dad, as if he saw Aleron’s five-year-old self and not the eighteen-year-old man.

  “Your mother can kick some serious Natura ass, but she understands the importance of keeping to her schedule so everything appears normal.” His dad’s gaze drifted out the window. He shifted in his seat, the leather creaking under the man’s XXL body, his face void of expression. “She’s done more than enough already. It was difficult for her to reestablish communication with her family and convince her parents to support what I’m trying to do, but Airs have a vested interest in getting the Fire element balanced. As our elements are complements, Airs also feel the strain of Fire’s decay.” A smile cut across his dad’s freshly shaved face. “She’s pissed she can’t be here today, but since your mom’s always volunteering for something, chaperoning the twins’ class trip won’t raise any suspicion. I just wish I could see your mother on a roller coaster with your maniac brothers. She’ll need a week to recover.”

  “What did Mom’s family want in return? Grandchildren as servants?” He sat back in the cushy leather seat, holding on to the box like it was a nuke suitcase. He’d met his mother’s parents once, by accident, at an expensive restaurant. His mother believed good table manners benefited everyone, and they occasionally went out to practice knowing the difference between salad, dinner, and dessert forks.

  “Your grandparents aren’t bad people. They just adhere to the old ways. The one thing they can’t deny is your mother’s happiness with me. Her sisters are all in lackluster arranged marriages, while your mother chose love over status.” His dad turned from the window. “I believe this gesture is their way of conceding that they made a mistake. I’ll never hear the words and don’t need to, but I’m thankful they agreed to help.” He cleared his throat. “Hey, I thought we might chat about something else before we land. Once the emissary process commences, I’ll be away a lot, searching for the right candidate.”

  Away more? Seanair already got too much of his dad’s time.

  Aleron stuffed the last bite of sandwich into his mouth, nothing but crumbs left on the plate, chewing and swallowing quickly so he could give his full attention. “Okay…is that what you want to talk about? My responsibilities in your absence?”

  “I want to give you a piece of advice on Caitlin.”

  Goddess, not the sex talk again. His dad had been blunt and detailed about the pleasures and pitfalls of dick ownership. He didn’t need advice. Caitlin had started birth control, and Aleron had accumulated an impressive stash of condoms. Tomorrow night, they’d take things to the next level, but babies were waaaaay down the line.

  “We’re responsible, and it’s not that serious,” he replied, wondering if his dad could sense the tiny lie. Probably not, since detecting the stink of untruths was an Air ability.

  His dad’s brows rose to don’t-BS-me level. “She chose Tulane over UCLA for a not-that-serious relationship? Did her parents support the decision?”

  No, but her parents didn’t support her dating anyone. They wanted her to focus on her future and her career. He and Cait had worked through her misgivings about long-distance relationships—by eliminating the distance problem.

  “They said as long as she maintains her GPA, they’ll support her.”

  “I see.”

  “We’re going to keep dating and strengthen our relationship.”

  “If by strengthen, you mean have sex, then I’ll remind you that fertility isn’t a problem for our race. If there’s a baby, your main responsibility will be as a husband and father, which impacts your future.”

  What was with the responsibility lecture? Of all the kids, he was the most dependable by far, and hello—he was sitting on this plane, charged with babysitting duty for the relic and his dad’s power. He ground his teeth, determined not to roll his eyes. Whatever. If his dad wanted the gory deets, he’d provide them.

  “Our plan is to go to college together, graduate, and get married. It’s going to work out. You’ll see.”

  “College will be a time for growth and change for both of you.”

  How would he know? He hadn’t gone to college.

  “Which is why we’ve already worked everything out. We’re both planners, Dad,” Aleron replied, wishing he’d get a little credit for being proactive.

  “Plans are our attempt to control things, and they often go astray. How do you feel about her? In here?” His dad tapped his chest.

  Aleron looked out the window. Bright blue sky hung above them. Marshmallow-white clouds rested below them like cushy beanbags. Music and the faint whoosh of air filled the cabin of the jet screaming toward their destination. He’d finally wiped his mind of Cait so he could focus on his mission. Why had his dad chosen right now to discuss his love life?

  “I care about her, Dad. Is that what you want to hear?” He turned from the window and noticed the heat beneath his collar. Without his mom here to simmer down his dad’s Fire, maybe “the talk” was his dad’s way of de-stressing before the mission. “Don’t worry. I’ll treat her right.”

  His dad huffed a laugh. “I have never once worried about you mistreating anyone or anything. You’re built like me, but you have your mother’s heart, and I don’t want anyone toying with it. I want to make sure Caitlin is treating you right. What would you do if she decided to stop dating you?”

  Wait. What? That wasn’t going to happen.

  “She won’t.”

  “But if she did?”

  This convo had gone off the rails and pitched over a cliff. He had no idea what his dad was getting at, but he definitely wanted their little talk D-O-N-E.

  “If she dumped me, I’d move on,” he said, no-big-dealing with his tone and tightening his hold on the box.

  A knowing smile crossed his dad’s face.

  “I’ll tell you what my dad told me: Fire in the heart sends smoke to the head. She’s your first love, son, but probably not your last.”

  “Caitlin is not breaking—”

  His dad leaned toward him and rested his arms on the table.

  “You’re about to start a wildly exciting part of life. Time will tell if Caitlin’s the one, but I’ll say this: I knew the moment I met your mother that something was different about her. It wasn’t love at first sight, but a boot-to-the-gut, heads-up
, she’s-important thing. The moment’s one I’ve always remembered. I knew there’d be no moving on from her, even when I thought we’d never be together.”

  “Mom didn’t marry down.” Aleron’s throat clogged like he’d swallowed a glob of peanut butter. Stupid Naturas and their social class BS.

  His dad’s expression softened to the wistful gaze of a big man brought to his knees by the love of his life.

  “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn’t have four incredible sons without her. Wouldn’t have you.” He blew out a harsh breath. “You and Caitlin enjoy each other, but as time passes, if you don’t feel for her like I feel about your mother, don’t settle. Don’t marry the girl you can live with. Marry the one you can’t live without.”

  Right. Caitlin. His highlight of high school. His whole fucking world.

  A tone sounded.

  “Mr. Foussé, we’ve been cleared to land,” came through the speakers.

  “You good?” His father sat back. “We can talk through everything again if you want.”

  No more talk. It was go time. Thrill and fear twined inside him, anchored by the knot of pride in his chest. His dad trusted him to assist on a mission that would change the course of Fires everywhere.

  Him.

  Aleron Foussé.

  Healer of Fire.

  His dad’s piercing brown eyes sharpened. “You get in and get out. In no time, we’ll be back together, on this plane, having ourselves a beer.”

  His dad’s pupils turned bloodred, the rings around them white blue, as he revved his Fire energy into its fully ripened state.

  Man, Aleron couldn’t wait to be twenty-four. Couldn’t wait to see just how fuckin’ strong he’d be because of his top-shelf, Alpha-level badass, Fire father.