I pulled the last of my clothes on and turned my back as he laughed softly. There wasn’t an ounce of meanness in it. That wasn’t his way. He didn’t hide once he’d set his mind on something.
In this case, he’d clearly set his mind and heart on me. I jerked the door open. Peta sat on her haunches in her housecat form and stared up at me with large, too-innocent green eyes.
“Have fun?”
Heat flushed my face. “How much do you sense when I . . .” I waved my hand behind me to encompass the bedroom and a still-lounging Ash.
“Enough to know not to find you right away. I’ve been through this a time or two, Lark. Trust me to know what I’m doing.” She trotted away. “Perhaps you should follow me, Dirt Girl.”
I took her advice and hurried after the twitching white tip of her tail as she led the way back into the main hall where the training room was situated. In the minute it took to get there, I calmed myself.
I’d done nothing wrong. I’d never promised Cactus anything.
As I stepped into the main room, the door across from me swung open, and Cactus strode in. Whatever calm I’d gathered fled. My heart did a funny little jump followed by a spurt of guilt.
“Lark, you should have come and woken me.” He grinned, his bright green eyes glittering with good humor. We’d been back in the Rim for only a few days, but already he’d gained strength and health. He jogged toward me, grabbed my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing the back of it.
“Mmm. A bit sweaty. Been working out already?” He lifted his eyes to mine and I jerked my hand away. A rush of heat climbed my neck and I fought to get my emotions under control. I did not want to hurt him. He had been my best friend when we were children, and he’d helped me both times I had to enter the Pit as an adult even though it had been years since I’d seen him last.
Peta put herself between us, her tail twitching spastically. “What do you want, Cactus? Lark is an Ender and has duties that have nothing to do with you.”
He crouched and ran a hand backward along her fur, messing it up in a single swoosh. “Easy, Peta. I want to see if I can help find her father.”
She swatted at him, hissing a word that made my eyes pop.
“You two knock it off.” I bent and scooped Peta up, and placed her on my shoulder. “I’m going to see Bella, then I’m leaving the Rim.” The words slid out of me. As always, the timing seemed to be against me.
“That’s your decision?” Ash said behind us. His voice ghosted over my skin, bringing a rather delicious shiver of remembered pleasure. I held my ground, afraid if I turned he would be naked still. Cactus looked past me, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“You think you can make her stay?”
“I’m trying. Her father is not the king he once was. I don’t believe he is worth the danger she would put herself in by going after him. I think you would agree, Cactus. Her life is more important than his.” Ash drew closer as he spoke, his voice gaining in increments.
Cactus straightened. “I’ll support her in whatever decision she makes. I always have.”
Before they could say anything else, I strode forward, putting distance between both men and myself. Peta gripped my vest to keep her balance. Her words, though, surprised me. “To think they both love you like that. A blessing, I should say.”
“Easy for you to say. You aren’t the one stuck between them.”
She laughed. “True enough. True enough. But can you imagine that fun if you could convince them to share you?”
My lips twitched and I let the sad smile spread over them, knowing it for the dream it was. “All too easily.”
CHAPTER 4
left the men behind, and went looking for Bella.
“Who listened in on us at the blasted field?”
Peta shivered. “A Rim guard.”
“And?”
“I lost him in a crush of people. He was wearing a helmet. I never saw his face, but he was missing a hand.”
Coal. My ex-lover was the only one I knew who was missing a hand, and he was a Rim guard. Why had he been spying on me?
“That’s Coal.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Damn. It was possible he’d been manipulated by Blackbird. Coal had been one of Cassava’s pawns too.
“You’re sure?”
“He was my lover. I took his hand, and now he’s struggling to live without it. If we have time we’ll talk to him.”
I didn’t want to talk to Coal, though. The last time I’d seen him things had gotten ugly between us. His mind was not stable, a side effect of losing his hand.
As we walked, I told Peta about Cassava and the things she’d done. How she controlled everyone using the Spirit gemstone, how she killed my mother and baby brother, Bramley, and how in the end, I’d fought her and saved our family from the lung burrowers.
Peta swayed on my shoulder, shaking her head. “It is hard to believe one person could cause so much pain.”
I stepped around a downed log and pushed through a small patch of huckleberry bushes. “She’s still alive, Peta. I doubt she’s done causing pain.”
We found Bella in the forest on the west side toward the ocean. She sat with her hands in her lap, carefully holding her belly. Though she was not far along, her tiny waist gave truth to her condition already.
She smiled when she saw me but her lips trembled. “Lark. You heard the news about Vetch?”
I nodded. “Yes. He’s booted you out already?”
Bowing her head, she put a hand to her eyes. “He threatened my baby, Lark. Said all half-breeds should be slaughtered as the curs they are.”
Peta hissed, low and long. I had to agree. I sat on the log beside Bella. “You shouldn’t stay then, Bella. It isn’t safe.”
“Where would I go?”
I took her hand, squeezing her fingers gently. “Finley would take you in until we can straighten this out.”
Bella’s jaw twitched. “You think I could go back there after what Requiem did to me?”
Tightening my grip on her hand, I stared her down. “For the safety of your child, what would you suffer? A light in the darkness was what the mother goddess said. That light will be snuffed if Vetch has his way.”
A sob escaped her. “How could Father do this to us? How could he leave Vetch as his heir?”
I wrapped an arm around her. “I don’t think he did. I know he was not in his right mind—”
“That’s just it. He seemed to be back to his usual self. There were no bouts of anger, no unreasonable demands. No silly frivolities. Fern even said he’d spoken to her about hunting for Cassava. About finally dealing with her. It was the last thing he said before he disappeared.” Sniffling, she lifted her head. “It makes no sense that he would leave us like this.”
Maybe he’d gone to hunt Cassava. But that would mean he was in grave danger, both his mind and body.
“His leaving may not have been his doing,” Peta said. “The power of Spirit can mask much, Bella. If Cassava did as I understand and controlled so many of you, surely you remember the inability to fight her power. The thoughts made you believe the choices were your own.”
Bella closed her eyes, tears trickling down her cheeks to drip onto the edge of her dress. “I remember.”
“Then you know your father very well may have left under compulsion.” The tip of her left ear twitched as she spoke.
“Peta,” I said, “how can that be? Cassava no longer has the ring.”
Peta’s eyes flicked to mine. “There is another who can manipulate Spirit. And his actions thus far have put him solidly in her camp.”
Blackbird. “He had to be here in the Rim, then, to manipulate Father.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Bella tugged on my hand.
“Blackbird, he’s the one in the cloak. The one who worked with Keeda. He carries all five elements, Bella.” I paused and let the words sink in, seeing it in her eyes as they did.
“All five? Are you sure?”
; “Yes. He always wears a cloak weaved with his power and so remains hidden. Have there been reports of anyone like that?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing. And I’ve read every report since Father left.”
I stood and held my hand out to her. “We need to get you out of here. And Cactus too.”
“What about you, Lark? You’re a half-breed, and I have no doubt Vetch means to see you dead.” Her words shouldn’t have shocked me. Maybe a small part of me had still hoped my siblings and I could get along. That we could truly be a family one day. Silly Dirt Girl, a family isn’t for you.
Peta leapt from my shoulder and hit the ground in front of us, shifting into her leopard form. “He will have to come through me first.”
“Excellent,” a voice boomed from the left of us. “I never liked cats.”
We spun and I jerked Bella behind me. Vetch stood with his hands on his hips. He was a younger version of our father, stocky and muscular with dark brown hair and green eyes. I suppose he was handsome, but the cruel twist of his mouth made him ugly to me. He had two familiars ranging to either side of him. One was a small brown bear and the other was a husky dog. They were two of my father’s three familiars. The third was a hawk I hadn’t seen in years. Four Rim guards stood behind them with weapons pulled and visors over their mouths.
Peta snarled, baring her teeth. “A dog? That is your familiar? I see why the Rim is thought to be a breeding ground for the weak.”
The husky let out a howl and took a step forward. Vetch kicked to the side with his boot, catching the dog in the ribs. “I told you to wait.”
“Bella.” I reached behind me and she took my hand. “The necklace and the Traveling room. Don’t stop for anyone.”
“I’m not leaving you, Lark.”
Vetch began to draw on his power to the earth, the lines of green running up his arms, a perfect signature of what he planned. The ground would soften below us in less than a few seconds.
“You saved me in the Pit with your strengths. Now it is my turn to save you with mine.” I let her go and pulled my spear, snapping the two pieces into a single long weapon. “Now!”
A whoosh of skirts and Bella was off. One guard broke away to follow her and Vetch snapped his fingers. “We’ll get her later. She’ll be easy. That’s her style. How do you think she got knocked up with an Undine’s brat?”
The guards laughed and anger swelled through my chest. Slimy bastards. Vetch focused again and the power ran through him into the ground.
“Quicksand.” The words barely left my lips as the ground shifted. Peta leapt to the side as I leapt toward Vetch. His eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open as I slammed the haft of my spear into the center of his chest and drove him to the ground. Ribs cracked under the blow, the snap of bone clearly ringing through the air. He writhed as he struggled to catch his breath.
The Rim guards stepped up, surrounding me. The one on my left came at me first, his sword pointed at my chest. “Half-breed slut.”
I knocked his sword to the right, then slid my spear down the blade and sliced into his hand. He dropped his weapon with a cry. Spinning, I slammed the haft of my spear into his head, dropping him next to Vetch. The second Rim guard grabbed me from behind. “I’ll hold her. You two boys cut her open.”
His arms encircled me and tightened like a noose being slowly twisted. I didn’t fight his grip, but instead lifted my feet so he carried my whole weight. He stumbled forward—I was no tiny flower of a girl—and I spun my weight to the side. We slammed into the ground, me on top of him. A gust of air exploded out of him. One of his buddies lunged at me, sword aimed at my head. I jerked out of the way. The sword cut through the air where I’d been a quarter-beat before.
The crunch of bone and flesh being cracked told me all I needed to know; I didn’t turn to look at what had happened. The remaining two guards backed up as I stood. “You two sure you want to finish this dance?”
They looked at one another, shook their heads and took off.
“I didn’t think so.”
Before I had a chance to celebrate my victory, a blur of brown fur and the heavy scent of musk slammed into me. I tumbled through the ferns and bushes before coming to a stop against the side of a redwood. I tapped into the power of the earth and brought it up to me, prepping myself to use it. Vetch stood once more, panting with a hand clutched to his sternum.
He glared at me, and then pointed a shaking finger. “Kill her.”
“Vetch, this is a mistake.” I still wanted to believe he could be reasoned with. “Your mother was wrong; the half-breeds have a place in this world too.”
The bear rushed me, his fur rippling in the spots of sunshine that cut through the trees. His name was Karhu.
I sidestepped the first swipe of the brown bear. Barely. He roared, his lips rippling with the force of his battle cry.
I could fight him, wound him, and take him from Vetch. I could cut him apart and Peta would help me; I knew it in my gut. My eyes and his met.
Pain. Shame. Fear.
I swung the spear around and planted the haft into the ground, going to my knees in a choice that could spell my end. But I believed Spirit when it recognized the emotions flowing from the bear.
“Karhu, he does not deserve either of you.” I held his gaze. “He has forgotten you are a companion, a mentor, the one he should turn to as a friend and confidant. Just as my father forgot.”
The bear stopped and let out a grunt, his nose twitching. “What do you know of familiars?”
“Do you not know Peta? She has been assigned to me.” A part of me had assumed all familiars knew each other, seeing as how few there were.
The bear turned his head to look at where Peta and the husky circled one another. “A cat?”
“A long story,” I said.
The bear backed away. “This time, I will spare you. For the truth you speak. Hercules. Let’s go. Leave Vetch to his stupidity. The girl is right, he needs to learn our value.”
The husky turned his head and lifted his dark eyebrows. Peta swatted his ass with his attention off her, and sent him tumbling toward the bear. “Do as you’re told, mutt.”
Hercules bared his teeth, but followed Karhu into the forest.
Vetch shook with rage. “Then I will kill you myself.” He lifted his hand, lines of power coursing along his skin.
“Not this time.” Peta leapt at him, taking him down in a single blow. Her mouth clamped around his neck, her long canines breaking the skin. The thought in my head was crystal clear. Let her kill him. End that trial. Bella could take over as she had and we wouldn’t need Father at all.
A strange urge came over me to do that. Blood lust roared through me and I struggled to push it down, to keep myself in check.
No, that wasn’t me. Fear trickled with the blood lust. I knew what was happening. This was the result of using Spirit. This was the beginning of the price I would pay for using an Element destructive in its very nature.
“Don’t,” I said. “I have to believe he’s being manipulated by Cassava.”
Peta spat him out. “Doesn’t make him any less dangerous to you or the other half-breeds.”
Vetch lay panting on the ground. His green eyes widened as if he suddenly realized he’d been outmatched. “What are you going to do to me?”
That was the question of the day. “The dungeons will block him from his power, and from whatever manipulation laid on him. We could stick him there. Someone would find him eventually.”
I didn’t think his eyes could widen further. I was wrong.
“You wouldn’t dare. I am the heir to the throne!” he spluttered as he scooted away. Peta snarled.
“Shut up, this isn’t up to you, worm.”
Worm. Yes, that was what he was. The fact that he’d attacked me using the power of the earth said it all. He was not playing by the rules. We could try and drag him back to the dungeons, but he’d fight us and fight dirty.
I swung my spear, aimi
ng for his head. He screamed like a child, shrieking at a pitch I was surprised he could manage at his age. At the last second, I spun the spear so the haft caught him in the side of the head, the momentum knocking him out.
“What a baby.” Peta snorted. I bent and picked him up, slinging him over my shoulder. The dead Rim guard though . . . would prove a problem if he was found. I flicked my hand over his body and let the ground suck him down.
“They will think you killed him.”
“Of course. Might as well put off the inevitable as long as possible.” I adjusted Vetch on my shoulder and started back to the Rim. Keeping to the edges of the homes and buildings, I made it to the Barracks before someone stopped me.
Thank the goddess it was Ash. He met me on the steps of the Enders Barracks. “Usurping thrones again, are we?”
“No. Just putting him in a safe place for a bit. Did Bella make it to the Traveling room?”
Ash nodded. I followed him through the main hall and down the long stairwell that took us to the dungeon. As if this was something we did every day.
“She said to tell you she would wait on your word to come home. What happened?”
As we hurried toward the dungeon, I filled him in on Vetch’s plan to wipe out half-breeds in the Rim. Starting with Bella and me. Ash shook his head as he held the cell door open. “He’s always been cruel. But even for him this is a new level.”
The cellblock was one of the few places that truly barred an elemental from using their power. Or from having another elemental’s power used on them.
If Cassava had any influence on Vetch, it would be gone while he was in the dungeon.
Maybe all hope wasn’t lost for him yet. I dumped him into the cell and stepped back, locking the door behind me. More than ever, my heart was twisted about going after our father. Whether he was in his right mind or not, he was the only one who could set to right the problems with who he’d named as heir. Yet with him gone and Vetch locked up, perhaps Bella could rule.
No, I had to see if Vetch was himself or not. I still had hope he could be saved.
Windburn (The Elemental Series Book 4) Page 3