Successor

  “I’m going to need your help.” I turn to the others. “Look for anything out of the ordinary that catches your eye. There’s a lot of ground we need to cover.”

  “We cannot search the entire area,” a scout replies.

  Scanning the lake’s edge, I point past the group in the direction Leila and I came from when we arrived. “Follow the water that way and around the curve. We’re looking for something small and easy to conceal.”

  The scouts disperse along the lake, searching the ground through the tall grass and bushes. Kais strays no farther than twenty feet from me, my temporary bodyguard. We search in silence for the next half hour, and I become more discouraged with each passing minute. There’s nothing but unremarkable rocks and bugs as I pick through the brush. I concentrate on my breathing as I search, willing my anxiety to calm as I keep track of the descending sun.

  My mind keeps returning to Leila, how scared and sick she must be. Her life is in my hands. All our lives are. There’s no doubt in my mind Taustin will kill the entire clan, and if I can’t figure out a way to outsmart him, we’re as good as dead.

  “Taustin is sadistic to go to these extremes.” I don’t expect Kais to respond, but his strong voice breaks through the quiet of nature around us.

  “Those who have known him the longest would agree. The clan’s welfare was never a priority for him.”

  I peer over my shoulder at the sun as it draws nearer the tops of the trees. “Why was he allowed to stay in the post if he wasn’t doing his job?”

  Kais lifts a moss-covered log, searching the damp soil beneath. “He did what was required of him. Nothing more.”

  “He wasn’t dedicated like Ren is, I take it.”

  “Sianne often raised concerns about his indifference toward his own people, his approach to her in particular. The elders were not troubled so long as he fulfilled his function.”

  “How he approached her? What did he do?” I spread the tall grass in front of me and try not to jump at the dozens of bugs that scatter at the sudden exposure.

  “He wanted to use her ability to his advantage whenever possible. He tried coercing her into a mate bond to solidify his influence over her. Not that he had one to begin with.”

  I whip toward him, disbelief making my eyes go wide. “He wanted her to be his mate?”

  Kais continues searching without looking at me. “It was not an unreasonable suggestion. A mate pairing between a defense commander and an elemental is common for clans which possess both.”

  So I’ve been told.

  My stomach tightens at the thought. If Taustin had gotten his way, he could very well have been my father. A sick chill moves down my spine, my mouth twisting into a bitter grimace. “Glad to hear she was against it.”

  “Her rejection did little to sway him. He had always wanted to exploit her ability.”

  “She knew he was after the Nexus Key, didn’t she?” We move along the lake shore toward the other scouts and sentries, picking our way through the grass.

  Kais looks at me. “His desire for it was the reason he was removed from his post.”

  I straighten, tilting my head to one side. “I thought the elders replaced him because he wanted to start taking over the other clans.”

  “It was rumored he intended to, which made the elders question his suitability for the post. They allowed him to remain where he was, so long as he did not act on those intentions. But when word surfaced that he wanted to possess the keys, he was removed without delay.”

  “So taking over the clans was a cover for his plan to steal the keys.”

  Kais faces my direction, his head down as he continues poking through the grass. The sun lights his front with its golden rays, and scars I’ve never noticed gleam faintly across his torso and arms. He has to have at least twenty years or more on Ren, which means he fought against Taustin’s raid on the clan. Did he lose family that day, too?

  “Did you know my mother well?”

  He looks up, squinting against the sunlight. “Few did. She kept to herself most of the time. If she was not needed for one reason or another, she chose solitude.”

  I sniff. “Sounds familiar.”

  The party gathers after another twenty minutes pass, having searched the narrow band between the lake’s edge and the tree line, all coming up empty-handed. Several of the scouts had attempted to search the edge of the lake, but the deep muck guaranteed they wouldn’t get far. I wave off the suggestion, somehow knowing the Nexus Key won’t be buried somewhere beneath the water. Ever since my arrival here, I’ve started paying more attention to my gut. I don’t always listen to it, but it’s all I have to go on.

  I follow it now, leading the others to the spot where Leila and I arrived. As we reach the edge of the lake, Kais lets out a few quiet whistles to the others. I glance at him, raising my brows. The corners of his mouth tighten, and the party follows me without a word.

  We weave our way about fifty yards into the forest and reach a small alcove within a grouping of trees I recognize right away. The trunks hold distinct markings traveling down their lengths to the ground. I step to the nearest tree, running my fingers along the bark.

  “What is that?” Kais, behind me.

  “Burn marks.” I study the charred lines. They branch off at random intervals, reminiscent of tree roots. I trace the edges with my fingertips.

  A scout speaks up from across the alcove. “What could do this?”

  My arrival with Leila flashes through my mind. “Lightning.” I drop my hand, turning to find the others inspecting the trees as well. “It was storming back home when Lei and I came through the rift. It must’ve transferred planes with us.”

  Kais lays a hand on my shoulder. “This is where you crossed over?”

  “Yeah.” I frown at his uneasy tone. “Why?”

  “This place is farther than Sianne had ever traveled alone. She never went beyond the end of the lake.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “It marks an outer rim of the clan’s territory.” He drops his hand, looking through the trees into the deeper forest. “Elementals do not pass beyond the borders of their clans without escorts.”

  I’m not sure what he’s trying to say. “What does that have to do with where I came through?”

  “A rift is a doorway between dimensions. When one opens, the passage remains ajar until the elemental returns through it. Sianne left this plane, but never returned. You would have needed to pass through the same doorway for it to close.”

  “Wait, wait. You mean I came here, to this exact spot, because this was where she left from?”

  “Yes.”

  I scan the alcove, biting my lip as my hands find my hips. The same question that’s plagued the back of my mind since my arrival crops up once more.

  Why did my mother leave and never return?

  And now, a new question. Why risk leaving the territory?

  A vibration against my hip draws my attention, and I reach into my bag and pull out the ball. Without a word, I turn it over to look at the portal. The die floats through the purple liquid to the surface.

  She performed…her function.

  Her function? I stare at the ball as the words register.

  And like the lightning that brought me here, clarity strikes without warning.

  “Of course…” I whisper, my mouth agape as a spark of hope ignites in my chest. My gaze falls to the ground, unfocused as my mind races. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “What is it?” Kais sounds alarmed.

  I look up, remembering the others. “I know why she left and didn’t come back. She was performing her function—her primary function.”

  He frowns for several long seconds before comprehension dawns. “Taustin?”

  I nod, glancing around us. “Come on.” I push past him and start jogging back toward the lake. “I need to see the elders.”

  We’re within the village bounds less than ten minutes later. We cut across the center
past the fire pit, the horrible stench still lingering in the air. I hold my breath until I make my way into the council garden, Kais joining me as the others wait outside.

  The elders look up from the table they stand around, a mixture of surprise, apprehension, and alarm on their faces.

  “You have discovered something?” Maemon twists her hands.

  “Yes and no. We didn’t find the key.” I shake my head, seeing obvious relief in their eyes. “But I think I know why my mother left.”

  Her brows lift. “And why is that?”

  “It was because of the key. She left because Taustin was after it.”

  “We knew that at the time of her disappearance.”

  My brows rise to match hers. “Were you also aware he knew what it looked like?”

  The old woman blinks. “What makes you so certain?”

  “Think about it. Taustin was the defense commander for the clan. He would’ve had plenty of time to figure out what Sianne’s key was before he was exiled. It makes sense he would go after that one first before trying to steal the rest.”

  Maemon sets her hand on the table, her mouth pursed in consideration. “A reasonable assumption, but it does not explain her abandonment of her people.”

  A groan vibrates deep in my throat. “You don’t understand what I’m saying—in order to protect the key from Taustin, she had to leave this plane. It wasn’t safe here, not as long as he knew what it was.”

  “The elementals possess their abilities for such protection.”

  “So you’re telling me elementals are never vulnerable to attack—that their abilities are faultless when the people themselves aren’t?” The elders are silent, and I scoff. “If that’s what you believe, then the Origin can choose another bloodline to take my place. I sure as hell don’t want the job if that’s what you expect from me.”

  The garden is quiet, the sounds of people working outside filtering through the entryway.

  Yisen steps forward. “If you are right, then why did Sianne not tell the clan of her decision?”

  Kais breaks his silence. “I have seen the place where Evan and Leila entered the plane. It is beyond the Laraek border.”

  The elders appear alarmed. Maemon asks, “She left the territory without an escort?” Kais nods and she looks to me. “And you suspect it was because she encountered Taustin?”

  I lift my shoulders, holding my hands up. “Why else would she leave in such a hurry? If her brain worked anything like mine does, she would’ve known it would be pointless to fight him off. Had she made it back here to warn you, he never would’ve stopped going after her. As long as she stayed here, he would always come for the key. How many raids do you think this clan could’ve survived if she’d stayed? No matter how good of an elemental you claim she was, she wasn’t invincible. She would’ve fallen, somehow, and Taustin would’ve gotten the Nexus Key.” I clasp the strap across my chest, watching as the elders let the grim reality of my mother’s choice sink in. “She didn’t abandon the Laraek. She put her peoples’ welfare and the Nexus Key’s safety above everything else.”

  “If that is in fact what happened,” Cettol replies, the crease between his brows adding to the rest on his face, “then it is certain the Nexus Key is no longer here.”

  “And as long as I stay a bonder, Taustin can’t get his hands on it.”

  “He will not be happy to hear that,” Yisen remarks.

  “That’s the best part,” I say, smiling a little. “He doesn’t have to know.”

  Cettol leans over the table. “It is the Nexus Key he wants. How do you propose to conceal its absence?”

  “By giving him a fake.”

  Several long beats of silence pass, everyone looking at me like I’ve grown an extra arm.

  “You intend to deceive him?”

  I take a step forward, glancing at the ground. “Rumor has it the keys change form when new elementals are established.”

  The sudden shifts in their expressions confirm the suspicion.

  “If that’s true, then Taustin won’t have any idea what the key looks like. He’ll have to take my word on it.”

  “It will not be so easy as that,” Yisen says, clasping her hands behind her back. “It will not take him long to discover the truth.”

  “True.” This plan formed in my head on the way back from the lake, and this is the part I don’t like. “But it should be long enough for us to get Leila back. When she’s safe, then the scouts can do what’s necessary.”

  “And what do you deem ‘necessary’?” Cettol regards me.

  “Get rid of Taustin, however they want.”

  Everyone stares at me. Long moments slip by before Maemon takes slow, deliberate steps toward me, her lips pressed into a thin line.

  “Your suggestion is not one to be made lightly.”

  I frown. “Wouldn’t it be best for everyone to get rid of him?”

  “Of course. And we will not hesitate to do so.” She presses her hands together in front of her. “However, the fact that you suggest it is unusual for an elemental.” She angles her joined hands toward me. “Your motivation should always be protection and preservation. Sianne would not have considered taking Taustin’s life unless there was no other option.”

  “That’s not true,” I say. “If protection and preservation are so important, elementals wouldn’t compete with each other when they come in contact. I’ve heard people get hurt, sometimes killed, when that happens.”

  “Which is why they do not convene unless necessary. It is for the safety of others they remain separate.”

  I bite my lip, swallowing hard. I’m not making light of taking a life, but the way I see it, Taustin is a danger to everyone—not just here, but everywhere. With his ambitions, he won’t stop until someone forces him to. If the Laraek decide to throw him in a hole somewhere to rot away on a few scraps of food, I don’t care.

  For the protection and preservation of all, he has to be stopped.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Come get me when it’s time,” I tell Kais as he follows me into the healing hollow. He nods before moving to the small fire where Kirahl sits, eating from a bowl. At least they can spend a little time together before we need to leave.

  I peek into the side room, dim light falling on Ren, still asleep. Whatever Kirahl knocked him out with was damn effective.

  My gaze falls to the dressing over his chest and shoulder. I frown, padding to the bed. The coated leaves have dried, the color now a matte black like the tar covering cracks in the worn roads back home. I sit on the bed beside him and touch one of the leaves. The piece is hard, like a shell protecting his wound. I hope its removal won’t hurt.

  He looks much better now. He’s not sweating, his legs have stopped twitching, and the purple streaks haven’t grown past the dressing. His breathing is still a little labored, but overall his condition has improved. With any luck, the knife wound will be the only obstacle for him to overcome after tonight. I pull my hand away, settling it in my lap and looking into his sleeping face.

  How am I going to pull this off? I’m not the elemental they all hoped I’d be by now. I know nothing of combat or war, except for what I’ve seen on TV. I don’t have what Taustin wants, and it’ll be a miracle if I can negotiate Leila’s release before he realizes what’s going on. He could end up killing me and Leila for trying to deceive him, or the Laraek could get the upper hand like the clan hopes. Tonight could bring an end to a reign of tyranny, or the start of something worse tomorrow. It all comes down to whether or not I can convince Taustin I have the Nexus Key.

  I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I have no other choice than to see this through. If I don’t at least try, the entire clan will be in danger. Any blood spilled will be on my hands, and I don’t think I can live with that.

  Horrid images of the village being raided pop into my head. Everything plays out like a scene in a movie, in slow motion with devastating music adding to the agony. At first the images
are blurry and the people have no faces. I have no connection to any of it. It’s a movie in my head. None of it is real.

  Then the images change.

  The village center, with its large fire pit surrounded by lifeless bodies—the people I’ve come to know and care for. The same people I’ll be risking my life to protect. They’ve survived the last seventeen-plus years on their own, with no elemental to help them. Now they need one. And all they have is me.

  Heaviness weighs on my chest as heat rises up my neck, making me gasp as the wave of panic hits me. I yank my bag onto my lap and thrust my hand inside the canvas, pulling the ball out and spilling the rest of its insides to the floor. I turn the toy over until the portal shows, but the die doesn’t surface.

  Unable to stop my knee from bouncing—a crack sounds under my heel—I say in a rush, “I don’t know if I can do this.” My head shakes with the intense, nervous energy filling me. “I can’t do this.”

  Anxiety fills me as my gaze fixes on the ball, my lifeline in this overwhelming moment, and yet it remains dark. An involuntary quiver takes hold of my jaw as hopelessness bears down on me.

  “I can’t…do this…” My breaths cut into my words, coming too fast. “I can’t, I can’t—”

  The ball begins vibrating, the movement light at first, as soft as a cat’s purr of contentment. It strengthens until my hands are shaking, and as the vibrations grow my panic starts to dissipate. They continue until the heaviness lifts from my chest, and my thoughts focus once again. I draw a deep breath of relief, and the ball stills as a bright flash erupts from the portal before dimming to a faint glow. I blink at the brightness and see the message die rise to the surface.

  Nothing is impossible…only implausible.

  I watch the ball, expecting the die to fall away and the glow to fade. To my surprise, the indicator rotates again.

  Nothing is impossible.

  The message remains—the Link, waiting. I swallow hard. “Nothing is impossible.”