by Martha Carr
The Elemental’s Magic
The Adventures of Maggie Parker: Book 3
Martha Carr
MRC Publishing
Copyright © 2019 by Martha Carr
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Jake Clark
Created with Vellum
Thank You
To the Early Readers Team
Kathleen Fettig
Michael Robbins
Debi Sateren
Michael Baumann
Special shout out to Grace Snokes, Jynafer Yanez, Kayla Curry, Vanessa Navarro and Amanda Zwald for their general badassery behind the scenes to keep everything
running so smoothly.
To all those who love to read, and like a good puzzle inside a good story and can’t wait to see what their favorite characters are going to do next
To Michael Anderle for his generosity
to all his fellow authors
To Louie and Jackie
And in memory of my big sister,
Dr. Diana Deane Carr
who first taught me about magic, Star Trek,
DC Comics and flaming cherries jubilee
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About Martha
Author Notes
1
Days had passed with no sign of another Elemental. Maggie Parker was growing restless. "Patience isn't a virtue, it's an excuse." The wind picked up, lifting her dark hair off her shoulders and making her squint into the early morning sun. Grackles circled overhead, keeping watch.
Her sister Diana gave her a sidelong glance. "That's your life motto, little sister. A little less coffee might help; or at least compromise and switch to decaf."
"Too late. My blood runs on high-test."
Diana let out a laugh and looked out over the vista below the tall, rocky hill. They were standing on the top of Mount Bonnell with a view of Austin below. "You think this will work? Tell me again why we needed to be up this high, and this early," she said with a yawn.
Maggie looked at her big sister. "You're going to have to take that plane up in the air sometime."
"There are no musts. Why are we here?"
"I just wanted to get away from everything for five minutes and there are few places in Austin with a view like this that are usually empty. The early part is because the fae said the best times to attempt this were at dawn or dusk and this time of day is quiet. I don't have to be at work for another couple of hours." Maggie breathed in the cold air, her hands dug into her pockets. There was a small leather backpack by her feet. "We should have brought the coffee up here." A hum of energy was passing along the back of her neck and had become a constant ever since the Fire Elemental had shown up at her door. She was getting used to it being there.
Diana tightened the wool scarf around her neck as the wind picked up again. "Remember when there was no one passing through your house except me and Mom? Now you have a mouse dog, an elven knight and a very old gnome who spits fireflies, all on an endless sleepover."
"You forgot the nice old lady who turned into a blue flaming fae in my living room." Maggie broke into a grin, shaking her head as she nudged her sister. "I'm glad you're on this adventure with me."
Diana tried to smile, not looking at her sister at first, narrowing her gaze as she looked toward the large homes carved into the sides of hills in the distance. "This is our first adventure that could get us killed."
"I won't let that happen." Maggie put her hands on her hips and straightened her back. She shook her head fiercely and drummed her fingers on the top of her holstered gun. "I'm still a detective and know what to do in a fight. And I'm getting better at magic, watch." She opened her hand, holding it out over the open space as a bubble formed with a cardinal inside, growing as it floated. She no longer needed to concentrate as much or run through the steps. It was getting easier.
The bird lifted its wings, popping the bubble and took flight, circling overhead before flying toward the west. The smell of magnolias hung in the air.
Diana clapped her hands together, smiling with her head tilted back watching the cardinal.
"We have the compass back, and one Elemental is here." Maggie grabbed her sister by the arm. "It'll be okay," she whispered, "because it has to be."
Diana furrowed her brow, looking into Maggie's face. "You don't have to make it okay, not for me anyway. Remember, I'm the big sister and we're a family." She hesitated, biting her lip.
"What is it?"
"You already gave me your word. Our childhood motto means something to me. We stand together..."
"On every adventure..." Maggie slung her arm around her sister's back. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Diana leaned back and looked at her. "You haven't told me what happened with Jake."
A flash of pain passed across Maggie's face and Diana fell silent for a moment.
"He wasn't who I thought he was, at all. It's complicated. He's wrapped up in all of this, but on the wrong side of things. Turns out he's half Kashgar and I was more of an assignment than a date."
"An assignment!" Diana spit out the words, anger creeping into her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You got fooled by someone? I find that hard to believe. Something doesn't fit. Your idiot meter is pretty foolproof," she said, tapping Maggie's chest. "It's part of what makes you a good detective."
The words stung Maggie. She kept having the same thought when she was staring at the ceiling at night, ignoring his texts. "Enough fits that it's not going to work." Maggie focused on the horizon, refusing to look at Diana. It was her signal that she was done talking about something and couldn't be cajoled into another word.
"If I give you my favorite necklace will you tell me?" Diana smiled, fingering the silver pendant hanging on her chest. "I'll even accept just the highlights."
Maggie stood back, her hands back on her hips. "That didn't work when you were offering me your wax lips and your latest Mad magazine and I badly wanted those." The crooked smile faded from Maggie's face. "Give me some time and I'll tell you everything. It doesn't matter right now, not to what we're doing." The pain inside rose above the hum in her body, choking her and making it hard to think. Her hands still rested on her hips defiantly, but her eyes were shining.
"Come on," her older sister finally said, "Let's get on with it. We have a quest to finish. Did you bring the telescope, the book and the compass?" She pulled her thick, curly red hair back with her hands, winding it into a loose bun on the top of her head and working it through a rubber tie.
Maggie did the same before crouching down by the backpack, zipping it open.
"A Parker is actually letting something go. Proof of miracles," muttered Maggie.
"I heard that, and I'd say something, but t
hat's so true. It's our best and our worst quality."
"I used to think we got it from Mom, but now I'm not so sure. All the memories I have of Dad have shifted." Maggie took out the telescope, the book and the compass and laid them all on top of the backpack. "I have all the pieces and according to the book this should work. The telescope can act like a hotspot and generate a signal to the other Elementals." She handed the book to Diana. "Hold it open while I figure out how to get a signal going." Maggie opened the book in Diana's hands and watched as the words moved and reshaped themselves into English.
"You can read that?"
Maggie looked up from studying the page. "You can't?" She looked back and turned the page, watching the book decipher itself again.
"Not even a little. That's not even Latin or I'd have a chance. What do you see?"
Maggie touched the page, running her finger along the words. "It says that the telescope has to have the coordinates of the Elemental..." Maggie picked up the telescope and looked through it, adjusting a dial. "And according to the blue fae this should still be set for the Air Elemental. From the last time it was used." Maggie pressed her lips together and felt an ache in her throat. I need to say it... out loud. "The battle that killed Dad." She kept going, willing herself past all the memories.
"It would have been Dad who last set it. He must have been looking for help." She looked back at the book, balling her hand into a fist by her side, pressing her nails into her palm. "It doesn't sound like it worked."
"The past does not predict the future."
"Poppy used to say that all the time." Maggie rubbed her forehead, leaning over the book in Diana's hands. "How do I start the beacon?" she muttered, scanning the page. The words shifted again. Maggie could sense the book was working to answer the question. "Look at that! It's helping." She looked up at Diana who was watching her in amazement.
"Your eyes have that glowing thing happening again. What's it like? What does it feel like?"
Maggie puzzled over a line in the book, not answering right away, caught up in the connection to the magic. "Twist and turn the bottom lens?" She looked up, the pulse of energy picking up through her body. "It... it feels like I'm connected to something bigger. Like I'm some small piece of it and everything is tied into everything else. It's like I fit into something. It's so perfect, it's hard to put into words." She was surprised by Diana's tight embrace. The book and telescope were mashed between them.
"Hold on to that," whispered Diana. "That's what us other Peabrains are searching for and you have it running through you all the time." She let go and brushed a stray red hair out of her face. "I swear I can feel the vibration coming off your skin." Her eyes grew wide as an idea struck her. "You're a kind of receptacle for energy and then you disperse it. Frankly, it all kind of makes sense on a science level too." She waggled her hand in the air. "Well, kind of till you get to the bird in a bubble part. It's physics mixed with magic."
Maggie gently took hold of the lens on the front of the telescope, twisting it. Nothing. She tried again, letting go of her frustration and felt the energy hop across the back of her neck like a stone skipping across a lake. "Got it!" The three sections of the telescope started turning, falling into place as four small metal legs came out of the side. She placed the field glass on the ground, letting it rest on the legs with the largest end pointing toward the sky. She glanced back at the book and picked up the compass. "Okay, hold it steady. I think I've got it." She held the compass in the flat of her palm and waited as the knob opened and the wings emerged. "Last part."
She slowly moved her hand closer to the telescope till it was just above it, blocking the emerging sunlight. Her hand was shaking from the vibration. The compass took flight, spinning faster and faster until it was a blur of light, and Maggie moved her hand out of the way. The sunlight gathered in the glass lens below and sent it back out again, refracting around the compass, blasting into the sky.
"Wow..." whispered Diana, following the stream of light.
Maggie could feel the vibration increase inside her body, rattling her teeth and shaking her bones till they ached. She kept breathing steadily, her muscles tense, wondering if she could take the energy flowing through her. The light pushed out, growing brighter as Diana shielded her eyes with her arm, trying to keep her eyes on her sister. A pulsing wave began to move through the light sending out a pressure that built inside of Maggie's head. The light swirled around her, picking up dirt and rocks that rose in the column of light.
She saw Diana cover her ears with her hands, dropping the book and tried to reach out to her but the strength of the surge had her rooted in place, lifting her feet just off the ground.
There was a loud whomp, followed by another and then a pulse of light.
"No... wait!" Diana shielded her face with one arm and propelled herself forward, reaching out with the other, determined to grab onto Maggie.
A loud bang filled the air instead and Diana was thrown backward, landing at the edge of the hill and sliding over on her back, rolling down over small rocks and grass for a few yards before she finally came to a stop.
"Maggie!" She rolled over and lifted her head looking up at the top. There was an acrid smell in the air like burning ozone and wisps of black smoke at the top, but the light was gone and it was quiet again. She scrambled to her knees, ignoring the scrapes on her hands and the taste of blood in her mouth and pushed herself to a standing position, even as she was moving toward the top of Mount Bonnell.
"Maggie! Maggie!" She crested the top hoping to see anything, her heart pounding in her chest. "I can put her back together. Bones mend." Her voice rose as she got to the top. "Maggie!"
Maggie was lying, crumpled on the ground, her hair spread out in a fan behind her head. The telescope had retracted the legs and the lens had slid back into place. The compass was back in Maggie's hand.
Maggie felt the large bang pass through her, and a wall of pain hit her, ricocheting around inside of her body making her squeeze her eyes shut to bear it all. But just as quickly, in a flash of light it passed, and she felt herself floating in streams of air. The whispers she had heard between the trees returned to her, spreading a message from one stand to the next.
The Elemental is in trouble. The Earth gave a shudder that Maggie felt pass through her, relieved the numbers were corrected and distressed that an Elemental could be slipping away.
It was repeated over and over again and she could feel the panic of the trees but none of it touched her. She let go of every worry and felt the connection to the trees, to the air, to all the Elementals. She felt their surprise as the magic tapped them on the shoulder, all of them wondering what it was that had just happened. Every intention started to leave her, thoughts of the precinct and Taylor, the Mean Eyed Cat, and the house on Pressler Street were growing slippery. It was like floating in a warm river with a steady current that was moving away from everything.
An initial flood of relief washed over Diane until she realized Maggie wasn't stirring. The air rushed from her lungs and her head felt light. She made herself walk forward and she crouched down next to her younger sister, her hand shaking as she reached out to find a pulse.
She pressed her hands against Maggie's neck choking out, "Please..." Nothing. "No!" She sat back, her mouth open and her eyes wide in shock. She shook her head and quickly rolled to her knees, pressing two fingers against Maggie's neck again. Still nothing. She grabbed her sister by the shoulders and pulled her up, hugging her, pounding on her back. "I'm not giving up. Parker women don't let anything go easily, including this life! Not borrowed time!" Diana was shouting as loud as she could, beating her fist against Maggie's back as Maggie's head lolled on her shoulder.
Maggie heard the words like an echo and a pang of sadness wove its way through her, mixing with the sense of satisfaction and picking at the connections to everything on the organic ship. She felt pulled in different directions, unable to let go as easily. The words echoed again and with them
she felt the edges of her old life crowd into her mind and heart again. "I'm Maggie Parker, the Elemental," she said quietly. The words had barely left her mouth. A hard punch to her gut shook her body and severed the connections, forcing her to open her mouth. Memories flooded her mind. Many of them were old and had been forgotten. She felt the tug from everything that made up her life pulling her back.
Diana felt the smallest stir in Maggie's body and pounded again, still holding her upright against her chest.
"Fight, Maggie, fight!"
Maggie's eyes flew open and she opened her mouth wide, tilting her head back and sucking in air, her chest heaving up and down. She was muttering something over and over, but Diana couldn't make out the words.
Clouds raced across the sky, speeding overhead and the sky immediately darkened. Lightning sizzled overhead and fat raindrops fell on their heads. Maggie blinked as they hit her face, still gasping, trying to get more air into her lungs even as the hum vibrated across the back of her neck. The rain grew heavier, drenching them as thunder clapped, startling them both.
"One, two," said Diane, counting the seconds between the lightning and thunder. "It's passing."
Maggie let go of Diana and twisted around to locate the compass. She saw the book face down on the ground and reached out for it, grabbing it and pushing it under her sweater, the cold, wet binding pushed against her skin helping to bring her back to the present. She pushed herself up, onto one knee, still shaking and forced herself to stand, holding out her hand for the compass.