He stopped her. "Hey, hey, none of that. You're putting your destiny on your shoulders."
"Like you?" Terra replied.
"I was alone, I had no choice. Look, they need you in one piece. Don't fall apart now, not when we need you most. It'll be alright, Terra. We'll get through this. Together. I'll carry some of the burden…I'm used to it. You're not alone, you never were."
"Why are you being nice now?" Terra questioned.
"If I lose my life, he wins, and I won't allow that to happen. I'm going to help you win this thing. And... I want a family. I told you, I've been waiting a long time for this."
"I have too."
"Terra!"
Both Terra and Bryne jerked at the sudden noise made from Marissa, who stood as still as stone at the bottom of the staircase. It came to their attention of their placement. Terra was half covering Bryne, her face too close for nonchalant conversation. They promptly moved from each other, Terra spryly to her feet, straightening her robe over her fully covered pajamas.
"What are you doing?" Marissa's voice was squeaky, reeling from the scene she had unsuspectingly witnessed.
"It's not what it looks like," Terra assured her.
“I saw this, but I didn't... It had to be wrong...”
“It wasn't,” Bryne resolved curtly. “It wasn't anything, Mari, you kick in your sleep.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Issa, please calm down. I couldn't sleep in the same bed with you, and Bryne felt suppressed in your room. Look, Era will share with me, she floats off her bed half the time anyway. He'll take her room and you'll have yours back.”
She heaved out a breeze. “I know you're telling the truth, but... Bryne?”
“He's family.”
“I know, Terra...” She bit her lip to keep from saying any more, surveying the situation although she had seen it in her dreams, she had to be sure that she hadn't missed anything.
Growing up she thought that Marissa would have made a great detective. That was if she could keep her emotions out of it, which was nearly impossible. Questioning herself and doubting was wonderful in retrospect, but crying every time something bad happened would set her to the drawing board.
Then Era came floating down the staircase, but unlike Marissa, she didn't stop. She didn't appear to see them. She stood in front of the fridge, observing their options for breakfast as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, Era lived in her own world most of the time. There was no need to bring it to her attention. She wouldn't have had anything to say about it, she wasn't one to care about trivial things.
"Eggs," Marissa required hopefully.
"Home," Bryne muttered.
Terra grinned up at him. It was getting easier and easier to do so. In truth, he did belong with them. “I’m thinking French toast.”
“Bacon.”
“Pancakes.”
“Cereal,” Era piped up.
“That's plain.”
“It's all we have.”
Bryne approached her to shoo her out of the way. “I'll cook. I can make anything out of nothing.” He dipped his head in the empty refrigerator. “But... I could be wrong. I'll have to go to the store. You girls wait here.”
Marissa radiated happiness. “Maybe a man around here is just what we needed.”
“Don't get used to it.”
The three sisters winked at one another.
Chapter Ten
Oh Brother of Hers
In the driveway of her home was a gold-toned Mercedes, one that Terra instantly recognized. She rushed inside, hoping against every fiber of her being that it wasn't who she thought it was.
It was true. Bryne did know how to cook, and well. Marissa exclaimed that he should be a chef, but he threw that compliment away, saying that he preferred to be a firefighter. There was little to be concerned about in a field where he couldn't be burned. Other than humans finding out, that is.
He cooked up a fantastic meal of mashed potatoes, green beans, and a small turkey. It took him most of the day, but it was delicious. He seemed very pleased with himself at the looks of satisfaction on their faces.
Terra had been dozing off until then. She asked about the scars, if it was fire that couldn't hurt him, what did?
"It was a knife." Bryan explained.
Terra flinched and asked no more. She feared if she did, the nightmares she had been having would worsen.
It was a lovely contrast to the way they normally spent meals in silence. The discussion was lively, they questioned about his life, what his parents had been like, his grandmother, his brother. Every single question he flat out refused to answer, but it was a beginning. They were talking, which was more than she could have expected based on the first meeting they had.
She smiled when she thought of it, how he ripped the newspaper from her hands, how he told them to go away. All because he was trying to protect them. In comparison of last night, he was a wonderful man, and it was evident why Marissa had gone to his house, because she knew who he was, and she knew she was safe.
It was irritating the way she told no one...
Era and Bryne sent to work on cleaning the dishes, Era planning to leave right afterward for the library to do inhibited research, and Terra drove Marissa to school. Marissa was less reluctant that day, and the drive was painless. They blared music, sung along (quite badly), and had a good time.
That was about to end. Before Marissa went she mysteriously said, "you'll have a visitor when you get home. He's not a threat, but be careful, okay? He's fragile." She shut the door, Terra not getting a chance to ask her what she meant.
It was odd for her to be telling her what was coming. While it was irritating when she said nothing at all of importance, it was more so when she said something frivolous, but soon, she realized what it was she was conveying, and she was a tad resentful that Marissa couldn't have come out say it clearer. What was it about psychics that caused them to be indecipherable?
In the driveway of her home was a gold-toned Mercedes, one that Terra instantly recognized. She rushed inside, hoping against every fiber of her being that it wasn't who she thought it was.
It was. She stepped through the door and there was Ian Reilly sitting on the couch with Bryne.
She felt like a fool, her hand still on the door knob. She didn't have a greeting, no surprise squeal and hug like any other normal girl, but in her defense, she wasn't normal. Ian should've known that, and it was a guess why he had come there. Perhaps it was because she was different. According to Marissa's feeling of boys in her school, some liked that, something different.
"Terra!" His face lit up, and Bryne scowled.
"Ian. What are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you, but why did you drive all this way?"
Ian bounced off the couch and hugged her tightly. It was around her waist that he grabbed her and lifted her feet off the floor. She held his shoulders and the second he put her down she released him. There was a pained glint in his eyes, but otherwise he showed nothing but joy.
"I wanted to see you! I've missed you, Terra. It's not the same without you. I keep revisiting the coffee shop and the alleyway where we last kissed."
Self-conscious, she glimpsed at Bryne. His brow rose in amusement and surprise, and she could tell that the cough he suddenly was wracked with had the words, "easy" in it. Her insides burned.
"Aren't you happy?"
Returning to him, she faked a spirited nod. "Yeah! I'm happy! It's great to see you!" In her head she retreated, No! I'm miserable! It's horrible to see you!
It was not that she didn't like Ian. He was a great human, but that was the whole problem. He was human and she was not. While he was with her he wasn't safe. He was before, but they had no idea, and then she knew for certain that he was indeed in peril. As long as she associated himself with them, then he was a target.
She changed the subject. “I see that you met, Bryne.”
“Yeah, he's a co
ol dude.” He narrowed his gaze at him. "You didn't tell me though, how you two know each other."
Bryne said, "Brother," as Terra said, "boyfriend."
"Huh?"
Bryne stared at her that was a stare beyond disbelief. She untangled herself from Ian's hold and sat beside him, a hand on his knee.
"He's Era's brother."
"They look nothing alike."
"They're half-siblings. The same father."
"How did you find him?"
"Oh, that was why we moved. I didn't want you to know because of the gossip that is spread around in that small town, but we tracked him down and Bryne's the only living relative she has."
Bryne couldn't take his eyes off of her, a slight shake of his head. She was going to pay for her lies later.
"So you're adopting him?"
"Um, no, that would be awkward. He's practically family, but..."
"You're dating him," Ian stated in the same dead voice he used in that dank alleyway in what felt like a century ago. Terra remembered with clarity when she said that she was moving, and she wasn't going to come back or keep in touch. He responded to her in that exact way and it set sympathy in her for him.
"I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say to a broken heart.
He stepped forward, desperation in his visage and tone. "Please don't do this, Terra. You had to feel what I felt. I thought you loved me."
Was he trying to break her heart too? An eye for an eye? "I never said that, Ian. You assumed I did."
"How cruel can you be to mess with me like that?! Am I the first guy you've done this to, or are there others? In other places you've lived!"
"Ian..." Terra didn't know what to say. There was no way to make it better, to make him feel better. She didn't tell him the truth; she led him on for her own gain, for her own comfort. She was a horrible person, and yet, she couldn't stop him from running out like anyone else who cared might've. She didn't go after him; she listened as he revved the engine of his car and sped away.
Terra had never attempted to explain what she was promised by proxy not to. That was what made having a relationship with a human impossible. Well, not impossible. It could happen between a freak and human and it would not be the first time. But between an Elemental freak and a human? No, that was not possible.
Bryne didn't speak for a long time. He left her to her misery and it was appreciated, but soon they would have to talk about it. She couldn't avoid it forever, and the sooner it was, the better it would be.
"Bryne," she sighed but he held up a hand for silence.
"I don't care what that was about. The only thing I want to know is if you ever cared for that kid."
That kid? It made him sound like he was ancient, and she supposed in their experience, they were.
"Yes," she said adamantly, "but... Some things can't be. I was selfish in leading him on when I couldn't keep him. His heartache is my fault."
"Keep him? He's not a puppy, Terra." He shook his head back and forth, as if he was contemplating something. "Well... I guess you can look at humans as they were puppies, but hey, let’s be fair, it wasn't right."
"I know, that's why I did what I did. I didn't go after him for a reason."
"But you did let him go because you did care for him?" It started out as a statement and twisted into a question.
"It wasn't right." That was that. There was no undo, no backspace on a keyboard, no eraser from a pencil. Their story was written in ink and though she could scratch it out as if it didn't exist, it did, and there was nothing she could do to take it back.
Slowly, unsure, he wrapped an arm over her. She started to sweat almost immediately from his touch.
"Listen, flower child. We have to do what we have to do. Sometimes, it means lying and cheating. Sometimes, it means hurting the ones we love…or just like. Sometimes, we have no choice.
"There was nothing more I wanted than to have a family, and I knew I had one. It was you three. I didn't know your faces, your names, but I knew you existed. I also knew that when you came for me, I'd have to force you to leave, because it wasn't safe for you. It's not easy, not in the least bit. I wanted you but there was no way I could have you. Danger followed me, and I loved you without knowing you." Bryan explained.
"You were doing what I've done." Terra responded.
"Exactly. So cheer up. It’s part of our business, but for the record, next time, don't get involved with a human. They make things messy."
“Point taken. Not again." Terra replied nodding her head in agreement.
He kissed the part in her hair as she leaned into his side. She wasn't certain who gave him the guide on how to be a good brother, but he did it well. It was as if they all were born with directions on how to live with each other, even if it wasn't well, they made a good family without even trying. Most blood relatives couldn't say that much.
Then, the phone rang. She jumped up with expectancy that it would be Ian. Who else could it have been? No one ever called, but when she picked it up, the voice on the other end of the receiver was not Ian. It was deeper, and rougher. The voice sounded as though it had swallowed rusted nails for supper, and it sent chills down her spine like ice water through a pipe.
“If you want your little human friend alive, you'll come to JohnstonTownHigh School tonight at two a.m. If you don't show, your pet dies."
"Who is this? Hello?" Terra frantically questioned.
The line died, a dead dial tone in its place.
"Terra? Are you okay? You're green."
She swallowed, but there was no saliva to coat her dry and scratchy throat. "He has Ian."
“Who has Ian?”
“Him. The one you won't tell us about.”
Despite the element fire being present in the room, it turned frigid as the arctic. He could have warmed it if he wanted, but he sat there like he was made out of ice.
“I don't have any more time..." He was speaking to himself, but he was far from mumbling.
“You have to tell us now,” she demanded, urgent and frazzled. That voice on the line echoed in her head, taunting her, challenging her to do something. She would not back down, she would save him.
He clenched her arms, pleading silently with her to be calm, but it was far too late for that. He simply said, “You’re right. I do.”
Unwanted images ran amok in her mind. Images of Ian with Bryne's wounds and scars. Of him being scared, alone, defenseless. He could've been screaming for someone to save him, possibly her, and she wasn't there.
Worst of all, it was her fault. If she had run after him, done something... If she begged him to stay even, he might not have gone. Because of her, an innocent love-sick human was going to die. Because of whom she was.
"Marissa! Era!" Terra felt dizzy from the scenes her mind was creating. "Ian's in trouble." Ian was going to die. Because of her….
Chapter Eleven
Strike A Match at Two
She groaned, hating all of the terrible analogies her mind formed and how it all could be linked together.
It was typical of Marissa to take the blame on herself. She saw Ian at the house, but she didn't see him being kidnapped. As hard as she tried while sitting on the floor in front of the couch, she couldn't see anything else. In Bryne's opinion it was pointless to have tried; she was never able to control her visions or empathy. Any tricks they had read and tried was of no avail. She buried her head in her hands, rocking back and forth.
"It's not your fault," Terra reassured for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Why can't I ever see anything that is important?"
Era sat next to her, gently restraining her to the wall to keep her still. This had to be done frequently as a precaution against her falling into her natural instinct to morph into a puddle of water. "It's not controllable, we understand. No one blames you."
Marissa shook her head hard, her hair slapping her face, strands stuck to the streaks her tears were leaving. "I blame myself." She wheezed, "it
's... All... My... Fault... He's... In... There." She hiccupped, "sorry.”
Bryne finally told them who the danger had been. It was an elder man by the name of Hadrian. There were many people within the Kin and it wasn't of any amazement that none of the girls had heard of them, even with Aunt Gwen in the group.
Fire told them all that he knew of the man. Hadrian was power hungry; he desired control of everyone. Of course, by then, they knew that. What they didn't know was that he had his own powers. Era, Marissa, Bryne, and Terra, they were all gifted, and only like a good villain could be, he was too. He had greater manipulation of movement than them. Than any of the Kin.
Terra stood and began pacing, forming a plan in her head. "Pull yourself together, Issa. We need you." She was beginning to rethink her primary decision to take her out of school in the middle of her day. She was already thinking that it was a bad action to tell her about what happened to Ian, the phone call. There was little that could be hiding from her thought. She would have to come home and she would feel the despair and worry. The turmoil of emotions that was raging in Terra.
"I don't think that this is something you can plan out." Era smoothed Marissa's hair, combing it between her long fingers.
Bryne concurred. "There's no planning with Hadrian but that is not relevant because none of you are going."
"Yes, we are." Terra insisted.
"Look, plays - with - dirt, this is my battle, my war…”
"Your beliefs on this matter are a moot point," Terra responded calmly but firmly. She shouldn't have gotten attached to the sweet side that Bryne had been showing. He was fire... She continued, "We’re in this together. The four of us are going to that school and the four of us are going to fight. We have to remember what the prophet said. Together, we cannot be broken."
The Elementals Page 7