She cried out, her heart beat slowing in time with Gia’s. Serin could feel her sister’s essence being violently ripped away.
“No,” she moaned, cradling her knees.
Logan and Diana could feel it, too. They were screaming into the aether. Their voices drowned out Serin’s cries.
Cars honked, and she could hear someone asking if she needed a doctor. “No, she’s okay,” Daniel lied, pulling her in close as he hurried them down the sidewalk.
“What’s happening?” he asked, panic making his voice high and tight. “What do I do?”
“We need to go.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and she could barely see, but they had to keep moving.
They had been tracking Uncle John for less than a day and she knew they were close. She was using one of his many discarded handkerchiefs to scry for him. It had led them to a little picturesque village on the Isle of Man.
She knew as soon as they were on the ground that John was there, but the signal immediately became confused. John had been prepared and had scattered spells and charms, laying false trails. Ignoring the beacons, she and Daniel scoured the town, turning around in circles when they had learned there was a famous ruin on the nearby cliffs.
Serin had known John most of her life. An atmospheric ruin on the coast? She hadn’t needed the scrying spell to tell her that was where he was.
Forcing the pain to the back of her mind, Serin pushed out of Daniel’s arms, determined to walk. She stumbled along the path to the castle when her mate hauled her to the side.
“Get on,” he said, climbing on a motorcycle parked just outside a quaint pub.
It was stealing, but Serin didn’t care. She swung her leg over the seat, then reached around him to put her hand on the ignition. A quick incantation and the motor roared to life. Daniel hit the gas and the bike jumped, flying down the street.
The castle was little more than a pile of fallen rocks near the cliff’s edge.
“This is not what the townspeople described.” Daniel spun in a bewildered circle. “There’s supposed to be a standing structure here.”
Serin examined the ground. There were fresh scars on the rocks. “This just happened.”
A sob was carried on the wind. Serin turned to see Logan weeping openly from the cradle of Connell’s arms.
The Were’s face could have been carved from granite. “It’s not true, is it?” he asked, his voice grim.
Diana appeared out of the corner of Serin’s eye with Alec in tow. Daniel must have started a fire so the pair could travel here.
She tried to take a deep breath, but it was difficult with her chest muscles frozen. They didn’t want to cooperate.
“Gia’s here,” Serin whispered, gesturing at the pile of stones that used to be a castle. “I can feel her.”
But not her essence. Whatever circuit had connected them had been severed.
“But she’s not dead…. She’s just not.” Diana’s voice was shrill.
“She has to be. How else would we all be able to stand here, together? The Mother herself designed us so that would never happen.”
Diana’s face crumpled. She slid to the ground, hoarse jagged sounds coming from deep in her throat. Her vampire mate was holding her shoulders, squinting in the bright light. As a Daywalker, Alec could stand under the sun without bursting into flames, but he wasn’t used to it.
Serin moved so they wouldn’t see her wiping her eyes. Putting her hands together, she called on the Mother to return their sister, but deep down, she knew it was futile.
Their Mother slept on, undisturbed.
“We need to kill that fucker.” Diana was furious.
Serin closed her eyes. “I will,” she promised. “He can’t hide from me now.”
“Um, I hate to point out the obvious, but he just killed your strongest sister.” Daniel’s shoulders were tight, but his face was resolute. “You can’t do this alone.”
“No, Logan and I will hold that fucker down while you smash his face in. He’s going to die screaming,” Diana vowed.
“Hell yeah, he is.” Logan wiped her eyes with the heels of her hand.
Daniel cleared his throat. “I actually meant me, but yeah, the more the fucking merrier.”
“We’re all going to help,” Connell promised. “And once he’s dead, we’ll grind his bones and suck out the marrow.”
Alec wrinkled his nose, but nodded sharply. “His head will hang in our hall for the rest of our days.”
“You own a penthouse, not a medieval castle.” Diana sighed as if this were a running argument, almost making Serin smile.
But she didn’t. That wasn’t going to happen for a long time.
The wind picked up, almost howling in their ears, and the air heated as if they were near a wildfire, but Diana had herself in hand. The disturbances weren’t her or Logan. It was the earth, reacting.
The ground began to tremble. Connell’s head whipped around, seemingly following something under the ground. “Uh, guys, we got trouble.”
Daniel grabbed her hand. “We need to get out of here.”
“No.” Serin pulled away. She could feel it now, too. Nothing else could shift the earth like that except one of their own.
But the link was broken. Serin couldn’t feel Gia. Whatever was coming toward them wasn’t her.
No. It’s too soon. The Mother couldn’t have chosen another already. But the rumble in the earth continued.
Her hands flew up to her mouth. No, no, no. She had to stop this. Logan and Diana weren’t ready. She wasn’t ready.
Serin and her sisters spun around as the ground began to lift behind them a few steps away from where Alec was standing. He hopped to the side, scrambling away as the earth parted and a prone figure rose from the depths.
It was Gia. Her eyes were closed, disgusting thick black threads covering her arms and face.
“Oh my God,” Daniel said, followed by a swear.
“It’s Gia,” Logan cried, running toward their sister.
Daniel ran in front of her, almost tackling her to make her stop.
“Hey!” Connell ran after them, growling. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”
“And she can’t touch her.”
Serin pulled Connell off Daniel with a rough yank. “Enough.”
Her voice carried with supernatural power. Connell winced, his hands flying up to cover his sensitive ears. “He touched Logan,” he growled.
“And he probably saved her life,” Alec said, kneeling next to Gia. He scanned the mess on her skin. “She’s soaked with toxins.”
Diana stepped up to him. Quick as a flash, Alec was on his feet, his arms out to keep her from getting her any closer. “It’s poison. Whatever killed her is a poison.”
Connell’s indignant expression melted away. “Fuck, he’s right. I can smell it. There’s everything there—nightshade, hemlock, and amanita just for starters. There’s even garlic and wolfsbane.”
Daniel fished something out of his pocket. It was a pair of rubber gloves. Kneeling, he reached out. Serin grabbed him before he touched the body. “I don’t think you should touch it.”
“It’s okay,” he said, nodding reassuringly. Very gently, he tilted Gia’s head away from them, pulling her ponytail away from her neck.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he put two of his fingers on her skin.
“Checking for a pulse.”
Connell sighed. “Daniel, I know you’re new to this, but if the girls say she’s gone, then she’s gone. They’re never wrong. It’s actually super annoying.”
Logan twisted at the hips, then punched her mate in the arm.
“Ow,” he said, wincing and rubbing the spot.
“Daniel, we would be able to feel her,” Serin explained, not wanting to prolong the torture. “Our connection has been severed. Her aura is gone—completely wiped away. That’s what happens when you die.”
Daniel tilted his head back. “Then why am I getting a pulse?”
&n
bsp; Serin gasped, leaning down. He nudged her back with his shoulder so she wouldn’t get too close, but she spotted it anyway—a telltale flutter at Gia’s neck.
“It’s weak, but it’s steady. And her chest is moving. She’s still breathing.”
“How is that possible?” Diana asked. “Serin is right. Gia has no aura.”
“Don’t ask me,” Daniel muttered, standing up and stripping off the gloves. He dug a little hole with the toe of his shoe, then dropped them inside. When he started to cover them up, the ground liquefied and swallowed them.
He straightened. “Okay. That was…interesting.”
Serin shook her head, putting her hand on her mouth. “This shouldn’t be possible.”
“Get it off her.” Logan’s red eyes were burning a hole into her.
She nodded hurried and backed up, gesturing for the others to do the same.
Closing her eyes, she pulled at the ocean. The water ran up the cliff face, working against gravity. It raced over the ground, running over Gia with churning force. Serin was determined to wash away every trace of the sticky poison.
When Gia was clean, Serin stopped, letting the water return, the venom diluting in the vastness of the ocean.
But the black threads hadn’t disappeared. Gia didn’t magically open her eyes.
Serin kneeled, resting her hands on the dirt. The earth responded by liquefying, pulling Gia down into its depths.
“What the hell?” Serin snatched her hands off the ground, and it stopped.
“Are…are you Earth now, too?” Logan’s huge dark eyes blinked at her.
“No,” Serin said automatically, gazing down at her hands.
“Are you sure?” Daniel asked.
“I—well, I don’t think so, I don’t feel any different.”
Logan cocked her head and reached down, curiosity all over her expressive face. The same thing happened. “What the hell?”
Alec nudged Diana. Frowning, she crouched as well.
“Holy shit!” she cried when Gia began to sink. When she stopped, the body rose again.
“Is that the Mother? Are we supposed to share Gia’s Earth talent now?” Logan asked.
Serin rubbed her forehead. “I don’t think so. This isn’t the Mother. I would feel that. I think She’s still asleep. I…I believe this is the Earth itself. It swallowed Gia up to protect her. It’s as if it’s holding her in trust or something.”
“Can you heal her?” Diana asked.
Serin took one more long look at their sister before shaking her head. “This is beyond my skill.”
It would have been beyond Gia’s as well. Elemental were soldiers, capable of triage and battlefield-level medicine. Anything more complicated and they were lost.
Logan hung her head. “Then there’s no hope.”
“Not necessarily,” Daniel said. “It’s bad, but there was to be someone in your world that might be able to help—the magic equivalent of a hotshot surgeon. A witch doctor or voodoo priest maybe?”
“We have healers in our community,” Diana said. “There are two on T’Kaieri, but you’ll remember they couldn’t heal Serin. She did that on her own, with your help, and that was a lot less poison that this. Something tells me we won’t be able to do the same here. Gia’s aura is already gone.”
Serin shook her head. “I don’t know of any healer who could handle something like this. They’d have to be an expert on treating poisons and black magic. And anyone who was well-versed enough in the latter wouldn’t be trustworthy.”
“Why not?” Daniel asked.
“Because anyone with that knowledge would be a black witch—enemy number one…or at least they were until John revealed himself as an alchemist.”
A hopeless silence descended on the group.
Alec cleared his throat. “Um, I might know someone.”
His cheek was pulled up, a strange tension tightening his shoulders.
Diana scowled at him. “Who?”
“His name is Salvador,” Alec said slowly. “He’s a skilled healer, who has practiced on the fringe for years. He’s very well versed on spells, curses, and poisons, but he’s not a black witch.”
“If he’s not a practitioner, then how does he know so much about curses and poisons?”
“Well, that’s the sticky part.” His head drew back, and he turned to Serin. “You are not going to like this, but I’ve dealt with him twice before and he came through both times…”
“Just spit it out, Alec.” Diana was done being patient.
“Salvador is an outcast. His father, Fulgencio Torre, disowned him over a decade ago.”
“Fulgencio Torre as in Fulgencio Torre Delavordo?” Logan blanched.
Alec nodded. “Yes. The man you need was once the heir to the Delavordo throne.”
Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck, I need a directory or something. Who are the Delavordos?”
Serin was getting a migraine. “They’re one of the seven families—witch families so strong and rich they’re a kingdom unto themselves. The Delavordos are the worst of the lot. More than half of all the black witches in history came from their family.”
A short silence followed. “Do we have a choice?” Daniel asked Alec. “Is there no one else?”
Alec shrugged, shaking his head at the same time. “I can’t think of anyone.” He turned to Connell. “Can you?”
“No.” The shifter grimaced as if smelling something foul. “But I think it’s a bad idea.”
“Well, unless someone thinks of a better one…” Alec trailed off.
Daniel put his hands on his hips. “It’s up to you ladies. She’s your sister.”
“Gia calls the Delavordos public enemy number one,” Diana said with a frown.
“She’s also the one who always says there’s an exception to every rule,” Logan said. “I say we do it.”
Both turned to Serin, waiting for her verdict. She blinked and swallowed before nodding. “Alec is right. We don’t have a choice. Let’s do it.”
The second the words were out of her mouth, the ground rumbled. The soil liquified, wrapping around Gia like a blanket before she sank, disappearing from sight.
37
Salvador Francisco Delavordo unwound the bandage around the girl’s chest, making sure his eyes stayed on the wound located over her heart. Thanks to the herbs he’d administered earlier, she was still insensible. She wouldn’t have known if he saw her breasts, but he adjusted the sheet anyway if only to preserve her modesty in his own head.
The blackened center of the injury had faded to a sickly green. Some of the edges were still purple, but he was reassured by what he saw. The girl was going to make a full recovery.
He went to the doorway of his makeshift examination room, waving in the grief-stricken parents.
“The curse is responding to the poultice,” he told them in Spanish. “She needs to rest for a few more weeks, but she will recover.”
The girl’s mother surprised him, jumping forward to burst into tears against his chest. He stiffened. When she didn’t let go right away, he patted her awkwardly on the back.
“It’s all right,” her husband said, helping pry her hands off him.
The devoted mother and father had driven thousands of miles, selling tamales and homemade sweets along the way to pay for the gas they needed to make the journey.
Salvador nodded stiffly. On those occasions when he was able to help, he was frequently subjected to bouts of emotion from the families of his patients. Despite the number of times it happened, he still wasn’t used to it. His parents hadn’t been big touchers.
Salvador hid his discomfort with action, bustling around the room getting more ingredients together so they could take the medication they needed home.
“You’ll have to reapply the poultice twice a day for the first week,” he said, rattling off other instructions for bathing and a diet that would speed the healing process, which the father scribbled down on a worn paper pad.
More often than not, the families who came to him couldn’t afford the long list of things he recommended.
The man waved him on. “Some in our village have promised to help, but…” He exchanged a loaded glance with his wife.
“Yes,” Salvador prompted when the couple remained quiet.
The woman leaned forward, her eyes heating with anger. “The one who did this, the Brujo, he is still there. He was angry at Angelica for rejecting him, so he hexed her. He has done it before, years ago when his lover chose another. The Brujo is older than I am… Everyone is afraid of him.”
“I understand,” Salvador said, his lip curling.
Most of the women he saw had been struck down by a male witch or someone who could afford to employ one. Sometimes it was a jealous rival, but those cases were the minority. If was a woman was hexed, there was almost always a man behind it.
He bent at the waist, digging out a small wooden box from under his workbench. Flipping the lid, he dug through the various cards and small scraps of paper. Each bore the name of someone who he’d done business with, specifically those who owed him.
His healing business was strictly pro bono. Salvador paid the bills by crafting spells and charms for a highly curated group of members of the Otherkind. Most paid cash, but depending on the client, he sometimes bartered for a service in trade. These favors came in handy on occasions like this.
He riffled through the short stack of papers, pausing when he came across Alec Broussard’s name.
Tempting. But he couldn’t use that one. Though Alec shared his eye-for-an-eye philosophy, rumor had it he’d taken one of the Elementals as a mate.
Salvador had initially dismissed the rumor as utter rubbish, but the story kept spreading and spreading. More than one reliable source swore it was true. Alec could have handled the patient’s problem with a flick of his pulse-less wrist, but Salvador couldn’t risk drawing an Elemental’s attention to himself or his operation. Sighing, he shifted the paper to the back of the pile.
Water: The Elementals Book Three Page 27