“What did you do to it?” Raine asked. He turned to her and held the bracelet up for her to see.
“I added some powerful stones that will help you connect to your powers. This center stone is a moonstone. It will help you pull power from the moon as long as it is near.” Kaden ran his finger over the stone as he spoke and Raine noticed how it seems to glow in the light of the moon. The stone was clear, but in the light of the moon it appeared to glow the same blue as her markings and eyes.
“It’s beautiful. What are the other stones?” Raine reached out to take the bracelet. Kaden took hold of her hand and held it in his as he explained the remaining stones.
“The black stone is obsidian. This helps promote balance and protection. This other black stone is a hematite. It’ll bring courage and strength. This bluish one is a sodalite, for creative thinking and a clear mind. And finally, the pink is a rose quartz for confidence, and love. When these stones are given to someone in the light of the full moon, the power within is unleashed tenfold and they become very powerful for the person who possesses them.”
Under the light of the moon, Kaden slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. Immediately the markings on her wrist burned with such intense heat she felt her arm would explode. Her eyes stung and her body shook uncontrollably.
Kaden shook her shoulders, but all Raine could do was moan through her clenched teeth. She felt him pull her onto his lap, the last words ringing in her ear, “No. It’s too powerful.”
>*< >*< >*<
Raine woke with a start when she felt a hand caress her hair. She blinked several times before her vision cleared enough to recognize the friendly wrinkled face she had met once before.
“Good heavens, child,” Aria said as she reached out her hand and pulled Raine to her feet.
“For an old woman, you are very strong.”
“Oh, mind your tongue. I’m only as old as I feel, young lady.” Aria giggled as she hooked her arm through Raines and started to walk down the same beach they walked in the last dream.
Raine dusted off her backside as they made their way down to the shoreline where the waves crashed over their feet.
“My child, we have much to discuss since our last meeting. You must have several questions for me.”
Raine asked the first question that popped into her head. “How did I get my powers?”
“When you were born, you had no breath in you. It was almost as if something was trying to stop you from the very beginning. I came to you that day and put life back in your lungs. Part of me is in you, my child, and that part will help guide you when you need it most. Your mother would be proud.”
“You knew my mother?” Raine pulled up suddenly and they both stopped walking.
“Yes, child. I knew your mother. She was a wonderful woman with so much potential, but she traded her powers so she could live what she called a ‘normal happy life’ with your father. She loved you very much, you know.”
“I never got to meet her.”
“No, but she watches over you and is always with you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because, my child, your mother is my daughter.” Aria smiled a beaming white smile that matched her white silky gown fluttering in the breeze.
“You’re my grandmother?” Raine asked before she threw her arms around Aria’s shoulders and squeezed. “That’s why you looked so familiar to me the first time we met.” Aria nodded her head.
“Your mother wore that very same bracelet, only she used it to mute her powers. This, this is very powerful,” Aria said as she took Raine’s hand in hers and inspected the bracelet.
“Kaden made it for me.”
“Ahh, Kaden. The poor child has lost his way. But you, you can bring him back.” Aria placed a kiss on Raine’s hand and then tucked it back through her elbow and turned to continue their walk down the beach.
“Elzar is out there, child, and he is raising an army of Elementals who have consented to help him. Beware of appearances at first glance. All is not as it seems. And remember, some Elementals who are with Elzar are not helping of their own free choice.”
“What is it that Elzar wants?”
“He wants you.”
Raine gasped at that statement and Aria patted her hand again in a grandmotherly gesture of comfort.
“You are very powerful. You will learn how to control all elements of this earth, and Elzar wants that for himself.”
“All elements? Don’t Elementals have one element they control?”
“That, my dear, is the beauty of you. Your powers are beyond compare, beyond anything anyone has seen yet.”
“How, grandmother? How can I control all the elements?” Raine suddenly felt overwhelmed.
“That, my child, is something you will have to discover on your own.”
“Who can I trust?”
Aria paused and turned to face Raine. The compassion in her eyes gave little comfort because Raine already knew what her grandmother would say.
“You must find that out for yourself, child. I cannot tell you who to trust, how you receive your powers, or how to use them.” Raine groaned but Aria continued. “But know this, your trust will be tested and misplaced on more than one occasion. The one you feel least likely to trust will be the one who wins in the end.”
“Really?” Raine whined. “That’s all you’re going to say?” Aria poked Raine in the arm.
“Sass, my child, is not becoming.”
Aria let go of Raine’s hand and reached up to place both palms on either side of Raine’s head.
“I leave you with a gift.”
Aria closed her eyes, chanting soft words as she held her palms firmly on Raine’s head. Raine closed her eyes involuntarily. Instantly images rushed through her mind, images she recognized the as the ones Kaesen drew in her journal. Each drawing filtered through her mind, leaving her with a clear impression on how to use each stance to control her element.
After what felt like hours, Aria pulled her hands away from Raine’s head. The images remained behind and Raine felt as if she had been wielding water her entire life.
“What did you do?” Raine asked as she played with some thoughts in her head and watched as the water in the ocean rose to meet her hand.
“I gave you the knowledge you need to wield your power, my child.” Aria smiled as she watched the small droplets of water race through the air with the swipe of Raine’s hands. Raine laughed when the water stopped above her head and hovered.
“Our time is short, my child. Know I’ll be here to help you when you need me most. Trust yourself and you will find the way.”
Aria threw her arms around Raine’s shoulders and squeezed.
“I leave you with one last parting advice. Elzar wants your power, either willingly or not. He will try to trick you, any way he can.”
Raine pushed back from Aria and opened her mouth to ask how it was possible to steal other’s powers, when the water hovering over her splashed down on her head. Raine blinked the water away and when she opened her eyes, Aria was gone.
Kaden’s face came into view.
Raine tried to sit up but Kaden held her shoulders down against his lap so she couldn’t move. She was drenched from head to toe and a cold shiver coursed through her body. Kaden instantly moved his hands up and down on her arms for warmth as she lay in his lap.
“Give it another minute. You were out for quite a long time,” Kaden explained when she gave him a nasty look for not letting her up.
“What happened?” Raine asked.
“I put your bracelet on and it must have been too strong. You passed out and I couldn’t wake you up. You started shaking for what seemed like eternity before you went limp.”
Raine tried to sit up again and this time Kaden helped her.
“I saw Aria again. She left me with a gift,” Raine explained.
Kaden cocked an eyebrow at her and waited.
“She showed me how to use my powers using the techni
ques Kaesen wrote in her journal. It’s all in my head now and I know I can do it.” Raine dropped her head and looked at the bracelet firmly encompassing her wrist.
“Well, that’s good news. With Donovan close, we need to get out of here.”
“There’s more.” Raine said as she faced Kaden. Her head spun and she almost fell off the swing, but Kaden grabbed her and pulled her up against him. Raine leaned into his embrace and laid her head on his shoulder. “She’s my grandmother.”
CHAPTER 20
KADEN
Kaden’s pocket buzzed against his leg for the fourth time that morning. He’d fallen asleep on the porch swing with Raine tucked firmly at his side. Her head rested on his shoulder with her arms were around his waist. She snuggled against him for warmth.
He should have carried her back into the house after she fell asleep last night, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted to keep her close to him and he wasn’t sure if it was the nagging feeling he had that something was about to happen, or if he just wanted her close. Whatever the reason, he didn’t question it any further as he held her on the swing.
Raine’s dreams were filled with her visions of Aria and it made Kaden’s heart ache. He’d had a grandmother that he loved with all his heart, but he loved Aria just as much. She was his grandmother’s best friend and his father’s charge so Aria was always around. When she died, followed by his father, Kaden’s world turned upside down. Last night he was able to see Aria through Raine’s thoughts and it humbled him. Aria was still the kind, gentle, loving woman she had been when she was alive.
Kaden’s pocket buzzed again and this time he reached inside his jeans and pulled out his phone. The same number, a number Kaden had tried to avoid since he first found Raine, had left ten unread messages. By the looks of it, someone was getting very impatient.
Kaden knew he needed to get Raine out of the area and fast, but he had to make sure he did it without giving anything away to his employer.
One-handed, Kaden opened the newest message.
Status was the only word on the screen. Kaden didn’t bother to open the other messages. He knew they would all be similar.
He typed a quick message to hold them off as long as he could, praying it would be enough to get Raine away from the area. His goal now was to keep her safe until she was confident enough to control her powers.
Got the girl. Text location soon.
As soon as he hit send, Raine stirred next to him. Kaden cleared his thoughts to keep Raine from feeling anything about the text and waited for her to fully wake.
He felt her confusion as she struggled to remember where she was, what had been a dream, and what had been real. His name ran through her head as visions of their shared kisses raced to the forefront of her mind. She blinked against the overcast morning and pushed herself to sitting.
With a shaky hand, she ran her fingers through her long brown hair and stretched. When she saw the bracelet on her wrist, she turned to face Kaden.
“Morning,” he said as he watched her blink through more confusion. “You were tired after last night and feel asleep out here. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
Raine nodded.
“We should get things packed and move on from here. I don’t like having that guy, Donovan, so close.”
“I thought you said he probably wasn’t an Elemental,” Raine questioned as she stood and swung her arms across her body.
“I don’t want to take any chances,” he said as he stood and rubbed out the kinks in his neck and arm from holding Raine all night.
He led her into the house just as Eryk and Camille woke from their spots on the couch. Tech bolted past their legs and out the door, disappearing into the surrounding woods.
“Do we have time for me to take a shower?” Raine asked over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway to her borrowed room.
“Just hurry,” Kaden said.
“Are we going somewhere?” Eryk asked through a yawn while he rubbed his bald head and stood.
“We need to get Raine away from here.”
“Has something happened?” Camille became alarmed. “She hasn’t figured out how to control her powers yet. We need more time.”
“Nothing has happened, yet. But I feel it is only a matter of time. I don’t know how I know, but we’ve got to get out of here,” Kaden explained as he went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. “I’ll pack all the food we can take, and you get the other things packed. We need to leave soon.”
Camille and Eryk acknowledged Kaden’s worry and began packing to leave.
Twenty minutes later, Raine emerged from the bathroom looking fresh and more beautiful than Kaden had ever seen. He stood speechless as she walked down the hallway in a pair of leggings and fresh tank top. Her hair hung past her shoulders in loose braids on both sides of her head. She carried a running jacket in her hand and had her Go Walk Sketchers, sans socks, on her feet.
Kaden handed her a fresh piece of toast as she walked down the hall, still unable to speak.
“Thank you.” She took the toast from his hand. “Kaden,” she asked around the bite in her mouth. “Can we practice a bit before we leave?”
Kaden stood silently for a moment before he shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized what she just asked him.
“No, we can’t wait.”
“I just have all this stuff running circles in my head and I can’t seem to think of anything else. I need to practice, for my sanity. Please. I promise it won’t take long.”
“Practice what?” Camille asked as she ping-ponged her gaze from Kaden, to Raine, and back to Kaden.
“Aria visited her again last night.”
“She taught me what to do,” she finished for him.
Eryk came down the hall with an armful of bags, and disappeared out the front door without a word. He appeared again moments later and walked down the hall for another armful of bags.
“Almost packed. Are you ready?” Eryk asked Kaden as he emerged again from the back rooms and made his way through the living area. Kaden took a few bags as he passed and followed him out to the car.
“Raine wants to practice for a bit to see how she does with her powers,” Kaden said as Eryk tossed the last bags in the back of the car. Kaden slammed the door. Eryk turned his full attention to Kaden as he leaned one elbow on the top of the car.
“If Aria has visited her, it might be time for her to try her powers and see what she can control.” Eryk leaned against the car and looked back at the house.
“You heard that?”
“Yes, my friend. I heard. And I know she needs to get her powers under control if she is going to be able to defend herself against Elzar.”
“Then we better get this over with. I don’t want to linger any longer than necessary.” Kaden pushed from the car and walked back into the house.
Ten minutes later Raine was in the yard with Kaden. Her marking burned bright on her arm while Kaden tapped into her thoughts, mirroring each Tai Chi movement Raine did as she concentrated.
Her movements were surprisingly smooth and Kaden could feel how the water responded to her while they remained connected. He was impressed by her control as he struggled to keep up.
Camille and Eryk paired off in the far corner of the house near the thickest bunch of trees to practice their own set of skills. Camille, being an earth Fay, could command nature to bend to her will. She claimed to be rusty in her powers, but she still managed to coax and commanded the bushes, grass, and trees around her to grow and sway with her thoughts as they attacked Eryk from all different directions. He lunged, jumped, rolled, and spun as he defended himself against the onslaught Camille threw at him.
Through the commotion in the yard, it took a while for everyone to notice the small mass of water making its way over the trees toward the house. One by one, heads turned to watch until the mass of water was overhead. Kaden stopped his movements and stepped back to watch Raine as she continued. Her concentr
ation was so intense, she didn’t notice that all eyes focused on her.
Above, the water danced and swayed with her movements and eventually moved closer to her until it was surrounding her entire body. She continued to move inside the swirling mass of water and her eyes glowed a bright blue. The marking on her wrist that matched her element also burned bright as she commanded the water surrounding her.
Raine manipulated the mass to raise high above her before changing shape and plummeting back toward the earth. Just before it hit the ground, Raine swished her hands to the side and forced the water to follow. The smile on her face was brilliant and her eyes burned an intense blue that meant she was one with her element.
Somewhere from the woods came a panicked bark before a gut wrenching whine filled the clearing, seemingly making Raine lose her concentration. The water came crashing down, soaking everyone to the bone.
Once the water stopped falling, Kaden shook droplets from his hair and whistled for Tech. There was no answer.
“That’s strange. He hasn’t come back since this morning,” Kaden said as he stripped his shirt off and threw it on the ground in front of him. “I should probably go find him.”
Bare chested, he started to walk past Raine when she placed her hand on his arm. Kaden stopped at the subtle pressure and turned to face her. Her eyes, fixed on the scars and markings that encompassed his torso and shoulders, made him cringe.
He’d forgotten about the scars that covered his back. He never bared his torso for anything, too self-conscious of the years of beatings his mother gave him.
“What happened to you?” Raine asked. The concern and pity he felt in her voice cut him to the core.
“My mother happened.” Kaden pulled his arm from her grasp and she let her hand drop to her side as he stalked off into the woods.
>*< >*< >*<
Raine stared after Kaden as he disappeared into the trees. The scars and markings continued down his back, disappearing beneath the waistband at his hips. They extended the length of his back, were deep, jagged, and bunched in the area of what used to be a tattoo. His shoulders each had the same tattoos Eryk had, but the tattoo on Kaden’s back was beyond recognition. It was hard not to stare.
Raine (Elemental Series Book 2) Page 15