“Finally, we meet again,” the witch toyed with my escorts.
“Again?” Carmon asked.
“Yes, little Elemental. We meet again.”
“How do you know what we are?”
“That is beside the point,” the witch diverted the question.
Chris huffed and folded his arms. “Then what is the point?”
“The point, young one, is that we will meet again soon. You will need to know then that I am not here to harm you, but to help. My name is Nathaniel Turnclaw, and you are Carmon and Christopher Lanshay. Do not try to harm me, Christopher. Put the lightning away. The only person able to stop me is Cal, and he’s too mystified by me to try.”
Cal? Who was Cal?
“Where have we met?” Carmon asked.
The witch smiled arrogantly at them. “Again, Carmon, not the point. I will see you soon, and we will have time to catch up. For now, there are only a handful of witches in the forest. They are lower level, so they will be easily defeated. Even Dalton and Jeff can handle them.”
“Why are you helping us?” Carmon inquired, stepping forward to get his question in before the witch could leave.
“Head to Cambria when you leave the forest. It will be the safest place to rest before Mount Pickett,” the witch advised. “I will take my leave now. Good bye young ones.”
Suddenly, he was gone. Chris and Carmon both blinked their eyes multiple times. Carmon seemed to be left speechless, but even I knew Chris always had something to say.
“What in the world was that?!”
“I have no idea.” Carmon shook his head before speaking again, as if to clear it, “Let’s get back to the others. Get their opinions. I have a feeling that we’re heading to Cambria.”
“It’s the logical choice anyway. It’s the first city we reach outside of the forest.”
“Yeah, but that’s why I was going to pass it by. Looks like our plans have changed.”
It didn’t take
long to catch up to the others. Carmon had picked me up again so we could move fast and quiet. Our group had stopped to eat and rest. We didn’t have much food left, so I hoped we’d arrive at Cambria soon.
“Everything go smoothly?” Dalton asked when we arrived.
“No, actually. It did not.” Carmon looked at Dalton. Each Lanshay stopped moving and stared at their brothers.
“What happened? You’re unhurt,” Jeff asked.
“It was the craziest thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Chris said, then proceeded to relate the entire encounter.
“That is one messed up story,” Drew still stood against the tree he had leaned against when Chris had started his tale. If there was a Lanshay I couldn’t get a read on, it was Drew. He never showed emotion through word or action.
“If I hadn’t been there, I’d think Chris was telling me a good one,” Carmon agreed.
“What are we going to do then?” Adam turned to give his full attention to his Commander. “Are we going to Cambria like he wants?”
“I don’t see what choice we have,” Carmon relented. His brothers agreed. “Alright let’s move out. Hopefully we can reach the edge of the forest by nightfall tomorrow. I wouldn’t put all my eggs in that basket, but it’s a nice thought.”
My family gathered up their things, I pulled an apple from my bag, and we were off. Carmon took the lead again, and I was happy for the view returning front and center. He was my mate after all. I might as well get something nice from him. He set a fast pace and the rest of us put up with it. The hope of leaving the forest soon was our motivation.
Along our way, Carmon sent a couple of his brothers out at a time to “take care of” some witches. I asked him how he knew they were there, but he purposefully ignored me. I didn’t know what I did to upset him this time. Maybe it was just him and not me, but I probably did something, or he blamed me for whatever it was. Dalton was kind enough, though, to explain that Carmon could “see” them with his Life element. That made sense. I made a point in not thinking about the lives that were ending and my mate’s feelings about it. It was too depressing to dwell on.
Oh, Bard, I wish you were here to talk to, I said to myself on our last break of the day before stopping for the night. As if hearing the words, he appeared when I ventured off to take care of some personal business. He startled me and I gave a slight shriek. Then he grabbed my hand and we were in his little home again.
“What happened? How did we get here?” I asked as my brain was trying to wrap itself around what had happened. Why in the world didn’t we travel this way before?
“You wanted to talk, so I am here to do that,” As if that explained how we went from one part of the forest to his house. I hoped he could do that trick the other way around too. “So, child, what would you like to talk about?”
“Is there any hope, Bard? For him and I?” My voice held a forlorn tone to it as I spoke to the old man.
“As long as you are both breathing, there is always hope.”
“Any suggestions on how I can get through to him?”
“Would you like some dinner?” Bard changed the subject.
“Bard,” I pleaded.
“I can have a roast ready in minutes.” Bard went about using his power to create a delicious dinner, and he was right, it was ready within minutes. If only I had the appetite to eat it. How would my family react to finding me missing? And worse, how would my mate, the vicious overlord, react? He would almost certainly kill me.
I ate, but didn’t taste much. If Bard wanted me to have a better relationship with the Commander, he was doing a poor job of helping. Carmon had been furious when I was out of his sight for mere minutes before, and he kept me with him no matter where we went. I was never going to have privacy again.
“It’s late, Child, why don’t you get some sleep?” Bard advised after dinner.
“Shouldn’t you return me to the others yet?”
“Sleep and then return.”
“Fine.” Seeing as how I couldn’t catch up with my family tonight by myself, and I was exhausted, I went to lay down on the bed I had shared with Carmon. It was lonely lying there by myself. I kept expecting him to bump into me, or come in the front door while I lay there. As time wore on I kept thinking of my family and mate and how they must be frantically trying to find me. Carmon had promised to keep me safe, and now he couldn’t find me.
I found my thoughts spent more time on my mate than my own parents. Did my being missing even bother the boy? Finally, I fell into a fitful sleep. It wasn’t a long sleep, but I woke up feeling better than I had when I slept on the ground.
I discovered a note from Bard on the table explaining that he had somewhere to be this morning, and I was welcome to leave at any time. By myself. I couldn’t believe he would do that to me! I tried not to shake when I thought of all we had been through since leaving Bard’s. Taking a deep breath in, I schooled my emotions and took the new pack that waited for me on the table. I let the breath out and quickly headed out the door.
Hoping I was walking in the right direction, I started into the forest. Carmon was going to kill me. Not just with words either. I didn’t know how much distance his little Life trick covered, but I prayed it was far enough to find me. I highly doubted it, though, considering the distance we had traveled. The worst would be walking through the forest center by myself, but hopefully since Carmon still held the bond I would be safe. I prayed I would make it through undetected. Especially since we’d already been through before.
I walked all day. It was slow going since I was trying to be quiet. I didn’t know if quiet or faster were better, but I figured I was safer if I was quiet. Deciding that Bard wanted me to learn something on this little adventure, I tried to think about what it was. I tried keeping my brain busy. It was better than having a freak out session when I heard the skitter of a creature in the forest. I’d gotten the chance to see a lot of creatures at the challenges. I did not want to see some of them again.
I hardl
y rested, and when the sun was setting, I collapsed on the ground to eat. I couldn’t find water like Carmon could with his Water element. I had found some, and had drank my fill and refilled my water bottle, but that was some time ago. Jerky wasn’t ideal for my situation, but luckily I had an apple. When I finished it, my tired brain realized, for the first time, that I would be sleeping out in the forest by myself. There would be no one on watch to keep me safe, and no mate by my side to put his scent on me. I trembled from exhaustion, from lack of sleep, and walking all day. I was not afraid to admit I cried myself to sleep. My emotions were so overwhelming.
My mind woke me up before dawn and I was off again. It seemed that my inner clock was acclimating to my new schedule: sleep, walk, sleep, walk. Today was worse. I was so bored, and I kept praying I was going in the correct direction. I walked for hours and hours.
Late afternoon found me not paying attention to my surroundings, so when I suddenly fell, it was a big shock and I screamed until I hit land beneath me. I landed hard and my ankle rolled, but I didn’t hear or feel a snap. It still hurt, though. I lay there for a few minutes letting my heart rate slow, and took inventory of the rest of my body. In the end, my ankle was the only body part truly in pain. I would have bruises, and a cut or two, but that was it. One cut was a heavy bleeder, but I got it under control quickly.
Once I was taken care of, I looked around. It looked like the hole Carmon had fallen into just days before. What had Drew said it was? Oh, no. A vampire trap. For food. Oh, no, no, no. I looked up. The hole I was in was nearly seven feet deep. There was no way I could reach the top, and there was nothing I could use to climb out. I took a few calming breaths to try and ward off the panic that was slowly growing inside of me. It helped a little.
I sat on the ground to rest my ankle and made an even worse discovery: my bag was not in the hole. How it wasn’t with me, I didn’t know, but I looked up and saw the strap hanging over the top of the hole a few inches. I wasn’t going to be able to reach it. I collapsed backwards on the ground, defeat clawing at me.
“Bard,” I called softly, “You helped me before. Can you help a girl out again?” Nothing. I liked that little guy less and less by the minute. My next best bet was my mate, but how could he find me? I didn’t know how, but I knew he would. I knew he would never give up on me. He would find a way, but would it be too late?
I sat in the hole the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. It was boring, but I didn’t have anything else to do except focus on my hunger. I had not taken the time for lunch or a snack like I should have. I regretted it now. I kept listening for vampires, or other approaching footsteps. My muscles were tense as I waited for those feared footsteps. The sun set faster in my hole, and I fell asleep before it was completely dark in the rest of the forest.
The next day was more of the same, but I was so thirsty and my hunger pains were growing. I didn’t sleep as well that night. The pain in my ankle was horrible, and I did what I could to keep it elevated, which wasn’t much. I cried myself to sleep. I knew my situation looked bleak, but part of me still held out hope for that man who couldn’t stand me.
The next day, I had very little strength, and slept a lot. I tried not to cry, but when I did, no tears fell. I knew I was in horrible amounts of trouble, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Until I heard the voices.
“Looks like the trap sprung Lenny,” a raspy voice told another. Vampires. It had to be. It was their trap after all. It looked like I was going to die today no matter how I looked at it. Hopefully they would make it faster than dying of thirst.
“You’re right, Sal,” a deeper voice replied. “Let’s take a look.”
“It smells and looks human, but it looks like she’s practically dead. Those don’t taste as good,” Lenny complained.
“I don’t care how it tastes,” Sal replied, “If I don’t eat soon I’ll be in the same state she’s in. Now, go get her.”
“You go get her,” Lenny threw back.
They argued back and forth for a few minutes. I didn’t care. I just wanted one of them to kill me and get it over with. Was chivalry really that dead? Because if it was, I wanted to go with it. I must have fallen into unconsciousness for a moment because the next thing I knew a body dropped into the pit with me. A second one dropped in a moment later, and I could feel him hover above me.
“Just get it over with.” My voice was hoarse and husky as I continued to lay with my eyes closed.
“Mate,” that one word sent shivers through my system and if I had been able to cry I would have. The way he said it, I’d never heard that tone from him before. It was kind and his voice had even cracked with worry. He picked me up so carefully and held me to him. My head rested against his shoulder, and I thought I was in heaven until he handed me off to someone at the top of the pit. That person hoisted me out and my poor ankle hit everything it could. After being so dehydrated, the pain was too much. I gave a small cry before passing out.
Chapter Seven
Carmon
Drew hoisted me from the pit and I looked for my mate. He had lain her on the ground next to him. I had heard her cry of pain, and it nearly sent me to my knees. Never before had a sound threatened to crush me the way that small one had. She was too pale, and the one sentence she had spoken to me was so hopeless I hadn’t wanted to let her go. I knelt and held her to me after sending Drew to get water. My power told me how dehydrated she was, and it made me nervous.
It had been four long days since I had watched the beautiful woman now lying on the ground, leave our resting spot to have a private moment. She hadn’t come back. I waited five minutes, then ten. I had been furious at the delay. I remembered wanting to take my anger out on the nearest tree, which was more of a Drew thing to do. After she had snuggled so close to me as I held her while we walked through the forest after meeting Nathaniel, I was furious with myself for enjoying her closeness. The anger I felt had leaked from me during the day a little. I had been coming down from such an angry high when she started making us wait on her.
At fifteen minutes, I went to find her, but she was gone. I could find her nowhere, and my power brought back nothing. I should have watched her with it, but I was trying something new called trust. Apparently, I had thought to myself at the time, she didn’t deserve mine. I had put my fists to my head and growled my frustration and anger at her disappearance.
I sent my brothers out to find her, except Dalton. He stayed with her family. I knew they were worried and wanted to help, but I wasn’t going on a search for them too. Unfortunately, it was near sunset. Our search in the light did not last long, and soon it was completely dark. I was angry. No livid. I cursed all women and their treacherous ways. The thoughts I’d had about my mate were so vile, I was now ashamed at myself. I still had no idea how she got in the pit, but from the new bag beside the pit, I assumed Bard had a hand in this.
The morning after she went missing, there was still no sign of her. A couple of my brothers had made it to the edge of the forest in the night. She wasn’t that way. I decided to send Adam and Dalton with the Hamilton’s. They were to go to Cambria and wait for us there. I hoped we would only be a day or two behind them. The rest of that day there was no sign of her. There were no footprints leaving the spot she was last known to be.
That night I needed a rest. It was hard to sleep. An emotion I hadn’t felt in so long came to me: fear. Not for me, but for my mate. She is strong, I kept telling myself, but it seemed so hopeless. I wasn’t picking up anything on my Life radar. The magic in the forest had been gradually decreasing my range, so I could not reach as far as I could when we first entered the woods. Soon, I feared, I would have little to no range to see the creatures around us. That idea was more than a little upsetting at the moment.
I didn’t want to sleep in case I missed her walk by me, but eventually sleep won out for a couple of hours. Then I was on my way again.
As I reached the forest center, I hoped she hadn’t gotten that far.
While no one could bond with her, they could still kill her. I hated to think of what they would do to her. She was beautiful. I had never been able to truly deny that in my mind. I’d even found that I missed the way she would stand up to me. I missed her lying beside me when I slept. I missed the new feelings she brought out in me. Everything. I missed everything about her, and I worried about her. Not as a Commander worried about the person he protected, or his duty. I worried about her as a mate did. As a mate should.
I didn’t sleep that night and wandered the outskirts of the forest’s center. Drew found me the next morning. He hadn’t had any luck either, so he started with me through the center. It was there that a fairy and gnome - I don’t know how they were friends since I didn’t have time to ask - found us. They explained they had found a girl, who looked like the one who had been with us just days before, and she was lying in a vampire trap. They had left her to search for us. They did not know her condition, but had rushed to find help. They led us to her as quickly as they could. We were still so far from her, and I worried the entire time. I felt so helpless and I tried to keep it from Drew, but I shouldn’t have. He knew.
We reached the pit as two vampires, worthless pieces of flesh, were arguing about who would jump into the pit to retrieve their next meal. I snapped. Then I snapped their necks, and I enjoyed it. One fell into the pit and I followed. What I saw about killed me. She was lying on the ground with her foot resting on a pile of dirt. Even without lifting her pant leg, I could tell her ankle was swollen. Her lips were dry and cracking. Blood had run down her chin multiple times from splits in those previously soft lips. Her skin looked sickly and her eyes were closed. Dirt covered her entire body, and was pasted to her skin where it had mixed with blood.
“Just get it over with,” she had told me. She thought I was one of those monsters here to kill her, and she was not even going to fight me. My fierce and fiery mate who dared stare me down and stand up to me when no one else would was in a condition that had left her so weak she was giving up. It broke me.
Life and Water: The Elementals: Book One Page 11