Water's Threshold

by Jillian Jacobs

  “Yes, Scotty greeted us downstairs,” Katie answered. “What are you doing up here? Why were you in your—” she trailed off and stared over his shoulder.

  A slight mist dampened the back of his neck, causing the hairs to stand on end. A single bead coalesced and trickled down his back, caressing his skin on the journey south before a fold in his T-shirt caught the drop. Maya slid up beside him. What did she spray on me?

  “Oh, hello.” Katie looked back and forth between him and Maya, before blurting, “Who are you?”

  Although he had never led Katie to believe there could be an intimate relationship between them, he considered her a friend and didn’t want her upset. She wasn’t like Dr. Melinda Givens who wanted a one-night stand or like Maya who wanted whatever the hell it was she wanted. Katie made obvious her aspirations of love and marriage, but he wouldn’t be the one taste-testing wedding cakes.

  He stepped aside to make introductions. “Katie, this is Maya, my guest this evening. Maya, this is Katie and her friend, Melissa.”

  Maya bobbed her head and a soft “Hello” came from her lips.

  What is this timid attitude?

  “Thanks for the advice, Terran. I’ll keep what you said in mind.” Maya nodded then exited down the steps.

  She had given him an out by portraying innocence in their time together. Maya obviously read the tension in the air. He appreciated her consideration of Katie’s feelings. One more thing in Maya’s favor, she had a kind heart.

  “And what were you helping her with, Terran?” Melissa charged.

  “Who is she?” Katie said, a quiver to her voice.

  “Maya is new in town, and I invited her tonight so she could meet everyone.” Escape. Escape. Once more departure was necessary, although this time he welcomed the exit. Withdrawal was crucial before Katie asked all those questions likely circulating in her mind. Questions he did not want to answer. “I should head down and help Scotty. I’ll catch you later.”

  A wet glimmer appeared in Katie’s eyes, and he accepted the sneer from Melissa as he retreated down the stairs.

  # # #

  “I brought you a beer. We don’t have any limes, though.” Terran handed Maya the bottle and wrapped two fingers around his own as he juggled his full plate. “Were you able to find something you can eat?”

  “Sorry, I’m a bit of a teetotaler. Would you happen to have water?” Maya relieved him of the bottle’s burden and held it like a prop. “Scotty was explaining you’re roommates. He said your other roommate, Clay, moved out after getting married.”

  Scotty dug around in a cooler set by his feet and pulled out a water bottle. “I told her since she’s new to the area, if there was anywhere she’d like to go rafting, I’d take her in my four-man.” He replaced Maya’s beer with water.

  Terran nodded and wiped the ketchup and grease from his fingers.

  There will be only one-man for Maya. Me.

  “Rafting sounds fun. I enjoy being out on the water.” A mischievous smile played on Maya’s lips before she covered it by taking a sip from her water.

  Burger in hand, Terran took a bite, chewed, and then pointed out. “We’ll have to get a group together and go sometime. We can use one of your larger rafts.”

  Scotty threw a chip at Terran’s head, and it landed in his hair. “Oh, it’s like that, is it? Moving in on my date.”

  “It’s like that. Sorry, man, I saw her first.”

  “All right, all right, I can see Forrester isn’t in a sharing mood. Maya, when you’re ready for a real man, I’ll be around.” Scotty raised his beer in toast then weaved through the crowd toward the house.

  Terran threw baby carrots and a cherry tomato at Scotty’s head.

  Maya brushed a hand through his hair. She smiled and showed him the chip. “Did you get things worked out with your Katie-girl?”

  “Cute. Real cute.” He crumpled his napkins, put them on his plate, and placed the entire mess on a picnic table.

  “You’re right. It isn’t funny, is it? The poor daisy is dead-nuts over you. Her mind is very full of future visions, and you feature in every frame. You stand beside her on top of a pure white wedding cake.” Maya licked her thumb then wiped at a spot on his cheek.

  “I’m not interested in daisies or wedding cakes.”

  “Neither am I, but I am aware when I’m a thorn in someone’s side. Ms. Katie and her friends are plotting my demise. Any minute now, she’ll approach, claws bared, prepared to spit and hiss. So that’s my cue to leave, as I don’t deal with confrontations in the same kitty-cat manner. I’m much more direct, as you can attest.” She handed over her water bottle. “Thanks for inviting me. I don’t… I rarely get a chance to be involved in anything so conventional. Another time, Forrester.” She inclined her head and headed toward the front of the house.

  He took a long draw from her water then followed. Sidling alongside her, he spun her to face him. “I’ll walk you home.”

  “That isn’t necessary.”

  “It’s just as necessary as this.” He bent and kissed her. A soft kiss. With this gentle meeting of lips, he intended to send a message to her and the entire crew present—she was his. Again, he lightly brushed her lips, once, twice before drawing back.

  She raised a single brow and locked her aqua-blue gaze with his. “Perhaps next time you’d like to lift a leg, always a much clearer form of marking your territory.”

  “I think I would have to mark my territory with you. Mark it and anchor you down so you won’t drift off.”

  “Bondage. How romantic.”

  He chuckled, this cheeky Shoeless Girl got to him. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

  Standing beside her, he recalled the time they crossed paths at the stream. The water bubbled and churned, creating a melody found only in nature. A harmony created in her presence, one that echoed in his mind even now. What would happen if he closed his eyes and allowed her to lead him further down the stream? Were there rapids ahead or a still pond?

  With every intention of discovering the answers to those questions, he clasped her hand. Her smooth skin was like a clay piece on a potter’s wheel waiting to be shaped by his touch. Together, they would create a rare piece of art. Fingers spread, he linked her fingers in his, setting an unbreakable mold.

  Chapter 10

  Maya kicked a rock down the sidewalk as Terran spoke about his friends at the party. Heat from their joined hands offered warmth on the cool night.

  In a lifetime of fighting as an Elemental, Maya would take this moment as her reward. Highlighted by a gold star, she would lock away this memory and bring it out to treasure during moments of loneliness or despair.

  During her stay here, she had rented an apartment in an historic building a couple blocks away from Terran’s house. The second floor apartment served as a fitting place to store her steamer trunk that overflowed with paraphernalia from the last hundred years. The building’s red brick façade had weathered many different signs hung from its scrolled metal post. A gym was the current ground floor occupant. Tourist shops and restaurants filled the town square only a few blocks away.

  Lost in her own thoughts, she stumbled when a malicious chill of greed and impatience bit into her mind. A veil of darkness fell on the sidewalk and a stifling thickness filled the air. A sticky sheen cloyed in her nostrils, but left no trace. Maya stretched her elemental senses, searching for the crafty fox in his shaded burrow, awaiting an innocent rabbit to scurry by.

  The sounds of the night vanished—no birds sang, no crickets chirped, no cars purred.

  The streetlights flickered then sizzled and popped.

  Extinguished.

  Terran stopped and pulled her close.

  As if he could protect her.

  “That’s odd. I wonder if a transformer blew.” His body became a stiff wall of tension beside her.

  It figured his scientific mind would attempt to explain these events rationally. Awareness of the menacing vibe thrumming through the air
was palpable, even to a human. Unfortunately, in her world, only the irrational prevailed, the personification of her worst nightmare awaited.

  Quint.

  Her dream date turned into her worst nightmare. She could not defeat Quint alone.

  Maya turned her back on the smug leech waiting farther down the sidewalk. A storm gathered in her body and an icy sheen prickled her skin. She refused to shiver and give away her alarm. Although, Quint had no doubt already gleaned her terror at facing him alone.

  After steadying her thoughts, Maya rested a hand on Terran’s shoulder. “I’ll head back on my own from here. It’s just a bit farther and you should get back to your party. Thanks for inviting me. I had—”

  “Isn’t this sweet?” Quint’s vile voice erupted out of the darkness. “Two lovers walking under the moonlight on a mid-summer’s eve. What a romantic picture you make.”

  Maya spun and shifted Terran behind her. Searching for the inky beast cloaked in black. An obsidian form separated itself from the curtain of night. Quint’s monstrous silhouette crept across the sidewalk. All wrong, his shadow didn’t seam with this earthly plane.

  The surrounding darkness receded. Maya recognized Quint’s current human form as the rancher, Carlyle Crowder.

  Quint wagged a finger. “Maya, aren’t you a little old for young Forrester here? Never figured you for a…what do they call it these days…a cougar?”

  Terran took her arm and pulled her to his side. “Mr. Crowder? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re doing out here? Is there something I can help you with?”

  “No,” Quint smirked. “Not yet anyway, but I do need to speak to Ms. Conway. I’ll see she makes it back to her watering hole.” He tapped his index finger against his bottom lip. “Oh wait, hmm, that’s all dried up now, isn’t it?”

  Anger replaced the fear storming through her body. She stepped away from Terran, but she felt his grip tighten. “Terran, as I said, my apartment’s just ahead. Please, let go of my arm. I have some things I need to discuss with Crowder. Just go.” She yanked her arm out of his grip, focused on his mind, reached deep, and compelled him to leave.

  An icy chill shot down her spine as she heard a twig snap behind her.

  Run. Mist. Escape with Terran now.

  Quint’s voice grated across her nerves. “On second thought, I’m more than happy to have Terran stay. He’s quite a specimen. I do believe with the right person operating beneath the surface, he’d go far.”

  Terran stepped toward Quint, his fists clenched at his sides. “What is going on here? How do you two know each other? I don’t like people talking in circles around me.”

  Maya wrapped a hand around Terran’s fist and tried calming him, prodding at his mind.

  Terran fought her waves of influence, shaking his head.

  Quint posed an unpredictable danger. The connotations behind his words were never completely comprehendible. Anything was fair game in the twisted black miasma of his mind, because he had no moral scruples. His not-so-subtle hints at taking over Terran’s body with his coal black core would not become reality during her existence. She would sacrifice herself before letting that vile deed occur.

  Using the earth’s energy frequencies, she sent out a mental distress signal for Nodin. Her fear and anxiety broadcasted across the waves. Urgency rippled with her need for elemental aid. Quint would pick up on her waving red flag, but she had no choice. He already knew her deep-seated fear of him. Years ago she’d spent six months recuperating from their battle, so her unease was well founded.

  Her thoughts shifted to Flint. Please come.

  What was Quint planning? His idea of fun ranged from fast cars to slow torture. He seemed fascinated by the unbearable pain a human could endure.

  Maya had to keep his focus on her. “Quint, whatever it is you’re doing, you have to know we won’t allow you to succeed. Why don’t you disperse back into whatever black hole you were derived from." Her goading continued, “You want to be human, but you’re playing a part. Being human requires having a heart, one thing you will never have. Change your path, dark man. This insane fantasy you have to be human is all played out.”

  Terran turned and faced her, blocking her view of Quint. Searching her eyes, he asked, “Maya? What is going on here? Why are you calling Mr. Crowder, Quint? How do you know him?”

  “Yes, Maya, how do you know me?” Quint jeered, in a voice incongruent with the distinguished face of Carlyle Crowder. “Everything I seek is within my reach. Terran’s elemental nature is dormant inside his body, longing to be set free. You do know who he is to become?”

  Damn it! How does Quint know so much about Terran?

  She grasped Terran’s hand and pulled him to her side. Ready at any moment to flee.

  Quint smiled like a serial killer before he guts you with a knife. “I plan on absorbing myself in every aspect of Mr. Forrester’s life after he undergoes a few alterations.” A feral light flashed in Quint’s eyes, eagerness broadcasted its signal straight into her mind. His intentions now clear.

  A heavy swell surged through her body, ready to pour forth and defend her mate. “I won’t allow it.”

  Quint gave a hard laugh and rocked back on his high-dollar heels. “As if you have any say in the matter. He and I will mesh well together, don’t you think? He is so young, intelligent with the added bonus of being attractive to the female sex. Or male. I like to try new things. With my boy here, the possibilities are endless.”

  Terran’s frustration was palpable. Maya gleaned the bafflement in his mind, but he wouldn’t back down from the incongruously menacing behavior coming from a man he had known his whole life.

  Terran paced in front of her. “Mr. Crowder, we will not be working together on any projects now or in the future.” He stilled, and then pointed a finger at Quint. “I’m aware of your unlawful deeds with your cattle and that is not how I conduct myself. I do not let others, human or animal, contract diseases then cover up the evidence by sprinkling the ashes with money. I don’t know how you know Maya, and I don’t care at this point. What I do know is, you should leave. Now.”

  Quint raised a brow and sneered, “Is that what you know? How unfortunate, as we were just getting to the good part. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to know more about Maya? I can smell the unspent lust seeping out of your every pore. She’s a tricky siren, son. She’ll tempt you then leave you dry. Isn’t that right, water witch?”

  Quint’s essence drifted, like fingers, across her face. A shady brush painted a black stain down her neck and trailed between her breasts.

  Maya clenched her jaw against the pain. Could Terran see Quint’s dark mark on her body? She trembled and covered her neck with her hands.

  A flaming bolt flashed across the sky, striking down in the backyard of the house behind them.

  Finally. Flint.

  Quint shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Always such a dramatic entrance. He’s a flaming fool. I’ve no desire to remain and listen to his ridiculous threats. Terran is mine, Maya. You will not stop me.” Quint focused on Terran, a conciliatory smile on his face. “If you would like answers to your questions, pay me a visit at the ranch. I have the answers you are pursuing in your BSE research, as well. We will work well together.” His gaze skimmed over Terran’s body. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Maya sensed Quint’s dark energy scouring through Terran’s mind, compelling him to come. To blindly follow where he led. She used everything she had to block his attempt. If Terran were destined to be her man, then she would be the only one messing with his mind—a woman’s prerogative.

  Quint turned his raven gaze on her. A deep roar echoed across her mind when his connection did not hold up against hers in their struggle for supremacy in Terran’s mind. “Maya, you know how I handle those who interfere.”

  He stepped closer, cupped his palms, and blew a handful of black particles in her face. They struck, like tiny pin pricks against her cheeks and eyes, and began to mel
t into her skin. Her field of vision began to narrow. The murky lead drew a trail through her body—an eraser of her existence. Deep ebony mixed with the clear blue lifeblood in her veins. Her fingertips turned black and panic screamed through her mind. She struggled to maintain her grasp on reality, knowing she would heal, but she couldn’t leave Terran.

  “Flint,” she shouted. “I need to go”

  What is taking him so long? And where is Quint?

  She collapsed, but strong arms caught her fall—Terran’s arms.

  A faint rustle sounded on the pavement beside her then an intense heat wave blasted through her ice-cold system. Flint’s fire boiled through her body and helped release a portion of Quint’s black matter as dark gray vapor.

  Terran’s voice reverberated like a foghorn through a dense haze, “What the hell are you doing? Move. I need to get her to a hospital. He blew some kind of contaminant into her face. You need to leave. It may still be in the air.”

  “No, Earthman,” Flint answered. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Maya shivered as Quint’s darkness continued to slither through her body. This pain was not as strong as what she experienced during their last encounter. This was more of an irritant, like trying to shake water out of her ears after a long day at the beach.

  She mentally reached out to Flint, “I can’t stay. Get Terran to leave.” Maya sensed the energy wave Flint fired through Terran. Her vision remained distorted, but she blinked away the black specs. “Flint, Where is Quint?”

  “He’s gone, Maya. Focus on Terran.”

  “Terran, look at me,” Flint commanded. “Everything is fine. Maya is not injured. You met up with me while walking her home. I took her the rest of the way. You will remember nothing about meeting Crowder. Turn around and go home.”

  Maya blinked through the black matter filming in her eyes. The folly of this moment evoked a burst of nervous laughter. Flint’s hands were placed upon Terran’s shoulders as he gazed deep into his eyes. Terran’s expression was pure shock over Flint’s naked, warrior body. They posed in the street like two lovers who’d quarreled at the start of a tryst. Flint’s intense amber eyes stared into eyes of deep brown, attempting to reach that portion of Terran’s mind which would persuade him to move on and forget all he’d seen tonight.