Fire: The Elementals Book One

by Gilbert, L. B.

The hilt began to glow red-hot. Sage let go with a yelp and turned to Alec as he charged toward her. The witch recoiled as she took in his murderous expression. He fell on her, swinging her up to tear her throat out. A blast from her fists, wedged between them, sent him flying back.

  He landed on the other side of the courtyard but in a flash was on his feet, ready to rush her again. Sage tore open a satchel he hadn’t noticed around her neck. From it, she drew two spell stones and hurled one at him. It missed and hit one of the columns holding the roof of the walkway behind him, completely leveling it.

  Men scrambled out of the way. An unlucky few were buried underneath and more ran to help them.

  The distraction gave Sage enough time to spell the second stone before she threw it at him. Alec dodged, but the damn thing changed course with him. He darted in the opposite direction. It followed him with increasing speed. Feinting right, he realized it was too fast as it corrected like a heat seeking missile.

  The spelled stone was seconds away from hitting him when the air around him shifted. A young woman coalesced in front of him with a blast that blew down every plant in the courtyard. It happened so fast it looked as if she appeared out of thin air, even to his eyes. The spell stone crashed harmlessly against her, dropping to her small feet with a small burst of air.

  “Logan, don’t let her go!” Diana gasped from the courtyard’s center.

  The Air Elemental turned where Diana kneeled with a huge knife sticking out of her stomach. Alec flashed to Diana’s side, Logan at his heels.

  “Logan! She’s getting away!” But Logan ignored her, reaching Diana with a stream of swear words that would make a sailor back away.

  “We’ll get her later!” Logan yelled.

  Alec turned in her direction as he reached out for Diana. All he got was a quick impression of a slim young girl with an Asian cast to her features as she shoved him away.

  “Cut that out. I’m trying to stop the bleeding.” He crowded back over Diana, his hands on her shoulders.

  “How?” Logan asked, clenching her fists.

  Alec closed his eyes. “I’m calling the blood. Making it slow down.” His hands crackled with magical energy, but he couldn’t feel the connection that he felt when he fed or when he tried to heal one of his own.

  “That won’t work on us,” Logan said, elbowing him aside again and crouching near Diana.

  “Stop it, you two,” Diana wheezed. “What is this thing?” she asked, looking down at the blade hilt sticking out of her.

  Alec touched the markings on the hilt, which was made of either silver or platinum. The ancient lettering wasn’t legible to him. It was roughly made, unlike the other objects strewn about. The offering bowls and embroidered bags and one or two other ceremonial knives—all of it looked like they ordered it from a catalog. But this thing was old and obviously genuine.

  “Can you hear it?” Diana asked.

  “Yeah,” Logan said, leaning closer with a grimace and gritted teeth. “It makes me want to chop off my ears.”

  “What?” Alec turned to her, confused. “I can’t hear anything.”

  “Shit!” Dmitri said from behind Logan.

  The other Elemental gave him one dismissive glance before turning back to Diana.

  “Is Katie okay?” Diana asked the Were.

  “The little one is fine. Sleeping spell.” He growled. “We’ll deal with it later.”

  “What do you hear?” Alec shouted at Logan, his control splintering the longer he went without an explanation.

  “Shouting won’t help,” Logan yelled back. “That thing is buzzing like a fucking tuning fork.”

  “Like the Olmec piece in the museum?” Alec asked Diana desperately.

  “Yes. But louder,” she said, her breath hitching.

  “I’m calling Gia,” Logan said, standing and raising her arms.

  “No time,” Diana muttered.

  With an expression full of pain and anger, she began to pull the knife out.

  “No!” Logan and Alec shouted in unison.

  “Don’t worry,” Diana gritted out as she continued.

  Flames surrounded her hands and started to spread over the rest of her body.

  “Are you crazy?” Alec said, grabbing at her hands. “Stop or you’ll bleed out.”

  “Self. . .cauterizing. . .you. . .idiot,” Diana said as she continued to pull out the blade. “And this. . .better not. . .be making you. . .hungry.”

  “How can you joke at a time like this?” Alec asked, terrified for Diana.

  She was starting to flicker as if she was made of flame herself.

  “Hey, it’s a valid concern!” Logan said, pushing him aside again.

  Despite the fact he outweighed her by a good eighty pounds, Alec slid away through the muddy courtyard as if he was a sack of potatoes.

  “No it’s not!” he yelled.

  He picked himself up and flashed back to Diana’s side. But he refrained from laying hands on the tiny Asian sprite this time. Pissing off the Air Elemental would be counterproductive now.

  “What’s happening?” Logan asked, putting a hand on Diana’s shoulder.

  It remained remarkably untouched by the fire that was growing higher and hotter with every beat of her heart.

  “Not. . .sure but. . .you. . .should get away,” Diana said, the flames surrounding her flaring and becoming denser. “Damn it. . .that. . .bitch is mine. . .” She grunted in between gasping breaths as she finished pulling out the blade and handed it to Logan.

  The flames were overwhelming now. Instead of retreating, the soldiers still on their feet crept closer in fascination. Logan tossed the blade away as the flames grew hotter and lighter in color.

  “I’m calling Gia,” she repeated, the panic in her voice clear.

  She extended her arms, but before she could call the winds, the fire in front of her blazed white hot and she decided retreat was a better idea.

  Alec started forward, making a move to take hold of Diana.

  “Get back!” Logan barked, grabbing him by the collar pulling him with her, away from the blaze that was Diana.

  “Let go! She’s dying,” he yelled in a tortured voice as he struggled against her iron grip, but it was no use.

  Logan was a third his size, but ten times stronger. She pulled him behind her, her tiny body between him and Diana.

  “I don’t think so, but if she is, she won’t be happy if she takes you with her,” the sprite called back to him. “Now stay behind me, cause I think she’s going to—”

  Alec didn’t find out what Logan thought was going to happen because she was suddenly tackled by something large and furry as a blast rocked the courtyard.

  “Get off me, you god-damned furry moron!” Logan shouted as she shoved Dmitri off her. He was in an in-between stage of transformation, still mostly human but with furred claws and feet.

  “Well, that’s fine, thanks,” the angry werewolf bit back at her, his deep voice an octave lower than normal. “I save you from one of you going supernova and. . .what the hell is that?”

  Craning his neck to see behind them, he looked toward Diana. . .or where she had been.

  His mate was gone.

  In her place was a figure made of fire. And it wasn’t human shaped anymore.

  “What the hell?” Alec asked in a dazed voice, as he stepped in front of Logan.

  “I didn’t know you could do that. That is so cool!” Logan said as the firebird looked at itself in realization.

  After a beat, it gave a cry and flew away.

  “What the hell just happened?” Alec repeated.

  “Diana has a phoenix form!” Logan said with an excited clap of her hands. “I can’t wait to tell Gia and Serin!”

  “Is she all right? Is she going to change back?” Alec asked worriedly.

  Diana wasn’t a shifter. None of his studies had mentioned a fire god that was both woman and bird. What if she got stuck that way? Panic started to bubble up his throat. Dmitri and the
other men stared at Logan with mystified expressions.

  “Um, I think so,” she said eventually.

  Her tone did not inspire any sort of confidence.

  “What do you mean, you think so?” Alec shouted, forgetting himself and towering over her with every ounce of aggression he could muster.

  Bad idea, he thought as a whirlwind lifted him up and slammed him against one of the stone pillars surrounding the courtyard. Picking himself up with as much dignity as he could muster, Alec stared her down. Instead of being intimidated, Logan looked a little contrite.

  “I realize you’re a little stressed right now, so I’m going to overlook you getting all up in my grill. This time,” Logan said with an infuriating amount of attitude. “And Diana should be fine. After she kills the witch. . .I think.”

  “Explain,” he said in a voice bristling with testosterone and dominance.

  It was a tone he’d been careful not to use around Diana.

  “You know. . .you and Diana make a really cute couple. For ruthless uncompromising bringers of death.” Logan smirked with a rueful shake of her head. “You’re going to be a lot of fun at the office holiday party.”

  Behind them, Dmitri snickered.

  “Come on!” Alec’s control was hanging from a thread.

  “All right!” Logan said, throwing her hands up. “Our legends say the first Elemental wasn’t a woman but a firebird. A phoenix. All the Elementals were something more. . .primordial in the beginning. Afterward, when the need to walk among humans became necessary, the Elementals were fashioned into women.” Logan shrugged. “I think she will change back. Not practical to stay a bird these days. . .”

  The way she trailed off made Alec’s skin crawl. He scanned the sky and prayed she was right.

  34

  The firebird could smell the witch’s blood. The corner of its memory that was still the woman could feel confusion and anger but no fear. Those feelings would be dealt with when it was a woman once more. For now, the bird had a task the woman couldn’t complete because the witch had injured her with something alien. . .something wrong.

  Once their fight had become physical, her human form had grabbed a hunk of the witch’s hair, hard enough to tear it from the roots. Now the phoenix or the woman could find the black witch anywhere. There was no hole deep or dark enough to hide. However, a hunt wasn’t necessary.

  The witch hadn’t gotten far.

  High in the sky, the bird scanned the wet street below. Rue de Metz, the woman’s memory provided. The street ran all the way to the river. The witch was headed there, probably reasoning that water would protect her. If the bird could laugh, it would have.

  The witch had run fast and far in such a short time. She reached the river and climbed onto a cruising tug, the fastest boat the slow river would afford. Speedboats were not the norm here.

  The witch had reached for the boat’s controls when the bird plummeted through the wooden roof. Talons of fire grabbed the enemy’s shoulders. Sage screamed and struggled to reach for her pockets. She knocked at the bird’s slighter body despite her burning skin. The bird shifted forms, slipping away to let the woman emerge.

  “Sage, you have committed murder for magical gain,” Diana hissed. “You’ve broken the covenant and forfeited your life. In the name of the Mother, I’m here to claim it.”

  “I didn’t know!” The witch gasped.

  “You knew enough. You knew it was wrong. And a little boy is dead. . .not to mention the other murders I can see in your aura,” she said.

  Diana’s hand clenched into a fiery fist. With a sickening crunch of bone, she punched through the witch’s ribcage and reached in to pull out her heart. For a moment, she stared at it, almost surprised to see it there, cradled in her hand. She blinked and then ignited it, silently watching it burn to ash.

  The rest of the body stood in front of her on its own power for a ridiculously long moment before it, too, was consumed in flame. Unnerved, Diana pushed the witch’s body away. It fell against the helm of the boat, spreading the fire.

  The conflagration would take the entire boat with it, a fitting funeral pyre for a Burgess witch. Black or white.

  Diana jumped out of the boat, belatedly checking for an audience. Satisfied to find herself alone, she watched the fire consume the boat until it began to sink. Once it was gone she started to walk back to the museum.

  Or maybe the Phoenix wasn’t a one-time thing? Can I fly now?

  Taking another furtive look around, she reached for the phoenix. With buzz of pleasure, it came when called.

  When the bird returned, Alec was pacing a furrow in the muddy courtyard. It landed with a fiery thump that startled the waiting audience. As the flames receded, the bird shifted into the woman once more.

  Diana stood there, swaying slightly, her hand fisted tightly. Logan ran up to her, her hands reaching immediately for Diana’s torn shirt.

  “The stab wound is completely gone. How cool is that!” she exclaimed before noticing Diana’s tightly clenched fist. “What’s that?”

  Diana stared at her fist. She couldn’t remember why she was holding it so tightly. Opening it, a fine ash fell to the ground.

  “Is that what’s left of the witch?” Dmitri asked as Alec walked closer to Diana.

  Her vampire didn’t look too steady, either. Whiter than any of his kind should be, he reached for her torn shirt as well. Crowding Logan away, he went down on his knees in front of her, his hands on her stomach.

  “Um, yeah,” Diana said, uncomfortable with Alec’s long-fingered hands on her bare skin in front of everyone.

  Even if everyone was just Dmitri and Logan.

  “It’s gone,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, I’m fine now. See. . .” Diana said, holding up her shirt higher to show off rock-hard abs that were completely unmarked.

  She wiped away the ash on her pants as she pulled her torn tank down and tried to dislodge Alec’s hands from her hips, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “Snap out of it. I’m okay,” she hissed with a blush.

  He hadn’t put his hands on her before, not on her bare skin. It felt intensely private, and they had an audience.

  Alec blinked and got up. “Apparently, rebirth as the Phoenix means extreme healing. This is good. Good news,” he mumbled, relief making him sound drunk and confused.

  “Are you sure ‘bout that, mate? They’re already nearly bloody invincible,” Dmitri said flatly.

  Both Elementals turned to frown at him.

  “Just saying, hope you always get the right guy is all,” he mumbled and turned away rather than meet their eyes.

  “Trust me, we don’t mistake innocents for the guilty. The stain on their soul is glaring even when their actions aren’t dead giveaways,” Diana said, gathering herself together after the disorientation that came with changing forms for the first time.

  “And we don’t always kill them,” Logan finished cheerfully.

  “Hmm,” Dmitri said and then cocked his head as if he heard something. “The little one’s waking.”

  Prying Alec’s hands off her, Diana tugged him to his feet before rushing off. She ran toward the small heat source inside the building. A soldier was holding the sleepy little girl on his lap. The other guards drifted back when she, Logan, and Alec entered.

  “Hi sweetie,” Diana said, kneeling in front of the little brown haired girl. Katie’s delicate features wrinkled and then smoothed in recognition.

  “Yeah, you remember me,” Diana said as she ran her hands over Katie’s hair. “Are you okay? Does your tummy or head hurt?”

  Katie glanced shyly at Logan and Alec behind her. She shook her head.

  “It’s all right,” Diana continued, stroking her hair. “These are my friends.”

  Katie blinked at them and then looked at Diana directly. “Did you find my mommy?”

  Diana looked at the two behind her and caught clear signs of conflict on their face.

  “Not yet, honey,” Loga
n said, bending slightly and placing her hands on her knees. “We’re still looking for her.”

  Logan shot a look at Alec as he moved behind Katie’s field of view. Diana could tell from Alec’s expression that there was trouble.

  She turned back to the little girl. “We’ll be back soon. We’re going to go look for her,” she said before letting Alec usher them out.

  He led them to the room across the courtyard, his expression grim.

  The sight that met her eyes was more of a shock than it should have been. On the floor, in a similar pose to her sister, was Brenda. Spelled stones surrounded her and the same symbols and writing were beneath her, under the spilled blood. It was in chalk this time. The circle hadn’t taken the time to carve the symbols into her flesh.

  Swearing under her breath, Diana kneeled down. One of the stones around Brenda had been kicked away from the circle, breaking the preservation spell that would’ve kept her body fresh after the moment of her death. A gash across her neck and chest was the source of all the blood, now barely a trickle.

  “You stopped the bleeding.” Diana turned to Alec in surprise.

  He had called the blood. It was the only reason Brenda was still alive. But postponing the moment of her death was cruel. She couldn’t understand why Alec had done it.

  “I want to try and turn her,” he explained from somewhere behind her, “but your friend here won’t let me try.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “What? You can’t turn her!”

  “Why not?” he asked, brow creased. “That little girl needs her mother.”

  Diana looked down at Brenda and shook her head. “I can see it in her aura. She’s responsible.”

  “What if they tricked her?” he protested. “She could be entirely innocent.”

  Diana met the desperate woman’s eyes. There was no way that could be true, but she knelt anyway. “I think you’re too far gone to save, no matter what he wants. But you’ll tell me the truth anyway, won’t you?”

  “She can’t answer for Christ’s sake. Her throat is cut,” Alec said exasperatedly.

  Diana ignored him. “Did you know what they were planning with your little girl? Did you know she would die?”