The Essential Elements: Boxed Set

by Elle Middaugh

  “Anything,” he said, perking up.

  “Spread the word—we’re taking a night off. At dusk, anyone who wants to hit up the festival on the riverfront in Center Allegheny can meet me at the parking lot and tag along.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, smiling wide.

  As he started making phone calls, I strolled back outside and over to the weapons station. Across the field, I saw Cade and Kendrick jumping from wall to wall, Sienna and the Winds pumping iron with red faces, and Xavier and the Waters throwing and dodging punches. Everyone seemed…fine, but maybe a little solemn and severe.

  Okay, fine. Dad was right. My team seriously needed some downtime.

  Tom already had the Fire Elementals aiming at targets. Sometimes we used our supernatural abilities as the weapons, and other times we focused on manmade devices. Either way, the varied training sessions were essential to our arsenal of techniques. We had been normal Elementals just a few months earlier, but we were slowly becoming soldiers. We had to be ready for anything Nicholai and the Elitists threw at us—maybe literally.

  I grabbed the dagger once more and tossed it lightly from hand to hand, testing its weight.

  Speaking up over the thwacks of speared targets, Tom addressed the group. “If someone throws a knife at you, what should you do?”

  “Block it,” one of the Fires called out.

  Tom shrugged. “Sure, but with what?”

  “Whatever’s lying around,” another said.

  “What if there’s nothing at all?” he asked, effectively gathering everyone’s attention. “How do you block with Fire?”

  Their eyes fell to their shuffling feet.

  It was a good question, really. Earths could block with wood, stone, metal, or almost anything natural and Waters could block with thick walls of ice, but Fires and Winds? They had nothing solid to conjure up. So, how could they defend themselves?

  I never would’ve known the answer myself if it hadn’t been for Aunt Marge and her vast array of Elemental literature.

  “It can be done,” Tom said, encouraging the group. “The key is concentration, not necessarily mental—though that’s a big part of it—but physical concentration, a close gathering of things. In this case, it’s power. You have to learn to force your power into a compact state. It will then become violent and volatile, destroying anything that gets close to its vortex at a breakneck speed.”

  He paused his speech and stared right at me, looking like some mischievous god of chaos.

  “Valerie, knife me.”

  Quickly, I whipped the dagger at our instructor’s chest. He threw his hands up, compressing his power into an angry ball of furious energy, and the knife crumbled to ash at his feet.

  “You ready?” he asked me, dispersing his power and grabbing a knife of his own.

  This time, I prepared to put up an angry shield of compressed fire and nodded.

  He threw the knife at me and I quickly blocked it, disintegrating the blade almost instantly.

  “Earths and Waters can’t do this,” he said, staring back into the wide eyes of the class. “When we Fires create a shield, the object being hurled at us will hyper-incinerate into ash. When Winds do it, the object hyper-erodes into dust.”

  I let go of the Fire shield, and my element quickly funneled back into my palms.

  Slowly, a girl put her hand up. “What if the object being hurled at us isn’t a knife? What if it’s an element, like wind or something?”

  Tom cocked his head and nodded. “A very good question. Blocking your own element is oftentimes pointless, as it usually won’t hurt you, and it’s definitely never lethal. Blocking physical objects like ice or a tree branch created by a Water or an Earth will end in much the same way as the dagger. When it comes to Winds, all we can do is protect our bodies from nasty gales. We can’t actually stop them from blowing us around.”

  He strolled over to the practice weapons made of blunt wood, which already had dents, burn marks, and missing chunks from prior training sessions. He gestured for Kale and me to pass them out then continued his lesson.

  “As always, keep in mind that your power only ranges so far, and the well is only so deep. The farthest radius is only about what?”

  “Thirty yards,” the Fires echoed back.

  “Right,” he said with a gratified smile. “And the endurance of power depends entirely on the task you’re performing. Just as you can walk much longer than you can sprint, you can generate fire much longer than you can generate a fire shield.”

  It actually made a lot of sense.

  “Depending on your Elemental strength, physical fitness, and proximity to your element in nature, you could feasibly use your power nonstop for up to an hour, or intermittently for hours on end.” Tom clasped his hands behind his back and paced as he continued. “Recall that Fires are weakest at night, when there’s no sunshine and less heat to help us recharge. If you’re ever on a mission and it’s nearing dusk, remember to use power sparingly, and do what you can to preserve energy. You can never know what you’ll have to deal with out there, and I certainly wouldn’t put it past the Elitists to target us at our weakest.”

  Or the Shadow Sect, I thought with an eye roll.

  “Pair up! Let’s practice making shields.”

  The Fires nodded in response and quickly got to work. At first their efforts were clumsy and unsure, but by the time our training time was over for the day, a good number of them had a solid handle on creating a shield and effectively blocking oncoming objects.

  To say I was proud would be an understatement.

  These Elementals had come from all over the place, some even from different states and countries, to join our cause and contribute to our campaign. When they’d first shown up, many were at ground zero as far as skills were concerned. Now, they were all but machines, practiced to the point of instinctive efficiency.

  I was finally beginning to believe we had a chance at victory over the Elitists.

  “All right, guys, that’s it for today!” Tom announced. “I’ll see you all at the festival tonight.”

  That got everybody cheering excitedly. Even I smiled.

  Until I remembered why I was going.

  Ugh. Politics freaking suck.

  Chapter Three

  Cade and Kendrick walked over to me as the crowd of recruits rushed away.

  “How was your first day, buddy?” I asked with a smile, bending down to his level.

  “It was awesome!” he shouted, bouncing around from foot to foot. “I learned how to dive over barriers, and how to jump from wall to wall, and how to hide and sneak!”

  My brows rose. “You really did learn a lot. Was it harder than you thought?”

  His brown eyes rolled to the side and he blushed. “Yeah. There was more running and stuff than I thought there would be.”

  I laughed and stood back up. “Better head home and get cleaned up. We’re talking Cade into making pizza for dinner.”

  Cade raised a brow and chuckled. “Oh, are we now?”

  “Shhh,” I said to my brother playfully. “Don’t tell him.”

  Kendrick giggled as Sienna caught up to us and took his hand.

  “Come on, buddy. Let’s give the lovebirds some time.”

  “You wanna play video games?” he asked as he skipped along beside her.

  “You know it.”

  Of course—there was time for video games, but no time for a date at the movies.

  As they strolled away, Cade smirked and crossed his arms. “What’s the catch?”

  I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Why are we really going to the festival?”

  That boy was too smart. I unwound his overlapped arms and laced our fingers together, tugging him into an easy stroll around the block.

  “My dad called,” I said eventually.

  His features pulled into a worried frown. “And?”

  “And Holden wants to meet up for an information exchange.”
/>   Cade stopped in his tracks, anchoring me and bringing me to a halt ahead of him.

  “Why him?” he asked. “He’s been corresponding with us through your dad all summer. And why face to face?”

  I shrugged and gave him a fleeting smile. “I have no idea. Something about tapped phone lines, I guess.”

  Cade scoffed. “He wants to tap something, but it’s not your phone line.”

  I tugged on his hand and resumed our walk. “You know I don’t want Holden.”

  “But he definitely still wants you.”

  That was likely true. Holden didn’t give up easily and was used to getting his way, probably even more so since becoming the Modernist leader.

  I sighed.

  “It’s all right,” Cade said, dismissing his comment before I could reply to it. “We need whatever information he has. And anyway…I trust you.”

  Our eyes locked and some sort of intensity passed between us. It was the first time he’d uttered words such as those, and it felt completely groundbreaking, like the last of our defensive walls had crumbled and we were finally looking at one another in all our glorious vulnerability.

  My breathing shallowed, and the sudden urge to kiss him overwhelmed me. I dropped his hand and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling his lips to mine. As our mouths collided, he steered us off the sidewalk and pushed me up against the wall of a brick building. The rough surface dug into my shoulders around my tank top, the sharpness of it contrasting with the smoothness of his hands roving up my sides.

  When my cell phone rang, he growled.

  “Ignore it,” he groaned against my lips.

  I took a deep, dizzying breath. “What if it’s important?”

  His hand slipped suggestively into the side of my black leggings, removing the cell phone as well as any desire I had to answer it. I kissed him harder, but he pulled away and glanced at the screen, sighing as he stepped away from me.

  “It’s your Aunt Marge,” he said, breathing heavily. “It probably is important.”

  Shit.

  I licked my swollen lips and concentrated on keeping my voice even. “Hello?”

  “Valerie!” she cried excitedly. “I found something that might be useful in our search!”

  My eyes suddenly shot to Cade. “Is that right?”

  “Yes! You need to come over right away!”

  I smiled at her enthusiasm. “I have a meeting with Holden at nine, but I can stop by beforehand, if that’s okay? I have a new book for you, anyway.”

  Ignoring everything else I’d said, she asked, “Holden Michaels? I thought you were with the Landston boy now?”

  “I am, Aunt Marge. This is a business meeting.”

  She sighed rather ungracefully. “Be careful, dear girl. I’d warn that you’re skating on thin ice where these boys are concerned, but considering you’re a Water, I don’t think that’d convey the proper severity.”

  I laughed. “No, I suppose not.”

  “Suffice it to say, you’re playing with fire. Wait, you’re also a Fire, so that doesn’t work either…”

  I laughed again. “It’s okay, Aunt Marge. I understand. Love you.”

  “I love you too, dear.”

  I hung up and my smile faded. Cade had turned away, staring behind us at the empty training grounds. The muscles in his back tensed as he crossed his arms.

  “She found something?” he asked, and his voice sounded surprisingly warm.

  “She thinks so,” I said, stepping closer to him.

  He knew she’d been searching for books and answers, but he didn’t know the entirety of her suspicions—our suspicions. Or maybe he did, and that was why he never asked…I wasn’t sure. Either way, if she’d finally been able to confirm our theory on Cade being Gifted then someone, somewhere had some serious explaining to do.

  “Come on,” I said, taking his hand yet again. “First things first. Let’s see how good you are at making pizza.”

  He chuckled. “Pizza is my specialty.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Everything is your specialty.”

  “I can’t help that I’m a good cook,” he teased.

  “I’m sure as hell not complaining, though my ass might be.”

  I looked back and assessed the size of my rear. It had definitely plumped up throughout the summer.

  Cade reached around and grabbed a handful. “Now I’m the one who’s not complaining.”

  I giggled and pushed him, but he didn’t move. Earths were almost never thrown off balance.

  “You’re so different from that shy, angsty boy I met up with at the willow.”

  He threw an arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  “It’s a wonderful thing. I love seeing how free you’ve become.”

  He was silent for a moment. “I’ve loosened up, yeah, but none of us will truly be free until the Elitists—and maybe even the Shadow Sect—are defeated.”

  I sighed. I knew it was true, but it still sucked.

  Back at the house, after everyone showered, we all went about our business as usual. Cade started cooking by creating the natural ingredients in the palm of his hand. Sienna and Xavier played video games with Kendrick and made damn sure not to talk about anything more than who killed who. Dad came home, loosened his tie, and immediately flicked on the local news to keep up with the Elemental war, and I retreated upstairs to get ready for the festival. I also wanted to find a brief moment of privacy to glance at the Elements of Darkness.

  According to the book, any evil ritual worth its salt would most definitely require the blood of an innocent. My stomach twisted, but my mind immediately started thinking of loopholes. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Maybe it wasn’t a human sacrifice, but rather a single drop of blood that was required? If that was the case, Kendrick could prick his finger and I’d be set. If a sacrifice was required, maybe it didn’t have to be human? Maybe I could trap a rodent and sacrifice it instead?

  How screwed up had my life become that I was lying in bed contemplating dark magic and human sacrifices?

  When I slammed the book shut, a tiny piece of paper shot out and floated to the floor. Curious, I reached down and scooped it up, finding a name and address scribbled in black ink.

  Madam Lucia’s Fortunes and Forecasts

  231 Snap Alley

  Radford, Pennsylvania

  I bit my bottom lip. What were the odds this woman was more than a simple fortune teller? I mean, look at the book her address was tucked into. If I went there and spoke to this Madam Lucia, perhaps she could help me call the dead so I could stop scouring the countryside for books.

  I thought of Sienna and Xavier downstairs, unspeaking, unhappy. If I could call the dead, I could fix their relationship. My best friend deserved more than this empty shell of a life she was living, and I truly believed her deceased parents could help in that area.

  Hell, maybe this woman would even know a thing or two about the true nature of Gifted Elementals. Anything was worth a shot at this point.

  I tucked the paper into my shorts pocket and shoved the book deep under my mattress. Then I fished around until I found the one I’d be dropping off at Aunt Marge’s. Skipping steps two at a time, I bounded downstairs and into the kitchen.

  Cade’s eyes widened as he took me in.

  I glanced down at my attire: dark gladiator sandals that laced up to my knees, distressed jean shorts, and a lacy black racerback tank. I’d pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and even applied a bit of smoky eyeshadow.

  “Please tell me this has nothing to do with Holden,” Cade blurted, apparently too mesmerized to keep his jealousy in check.

  I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “When a woman dresses up, it’s for herself, not for a dumb boy.”

  “What about two dumb boys?” he asked.

  “How about no dumb boys?” I said, kissing his cheek before releasing him and holding the book in the air. “I�
�m heading to Aunt Marge’s now. I’ll meet you at the festival after.”

  Cade’s brows narrowed. “Val, what did we talk about?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please don’t make me feel like an incompetent baby. You’re my boyfriend, not my guardian. I think I can go a couple miles by myself.”

  “I don’t like it,” Sienna shouted, never taking her eyes from the video game.

  “I don’t really care,” I sang back as she flipped me the bird.

  “Jameson, you’re with me on this, right?” Cade asked my dad.

  He sighed and ran a hand through his silvery brown hair. “I don’t know what I think. Part of me wants to protect my baby girl, but the other part of me wants to respect her independence.”

  Cade crossed his arms. “We can respect her independence after the Elitists are defeated.”

  Dad pursed his lips. “But if we don’t respect her now and always, we’re basically shitty human beings.”

  I nodded as if it had been my point.

  Finally, Cade sighed. “All right, Val. I respect your ridiculous need to do shit by yourself, but I need you to also respect my desire to protect you. Will you call me when you get there? Or text, at least?”

  I smiled and stood a little taller. “Yes, I can definitely do that.”

  “You have half an hour,” he said with a darkened gaze. “If I don’t hear from you by then, I’m coming to personally make sure you’re safe. Deal?”

  “Deal,” I agreed with a smirk.

  Dad nodded and patted Cade’s shoulder. “I like this kid.”

  I scoffed. “If only his father liked me.”

  “He’s coming around,” Cade insisted as he put the finishing touches on the pizza—a light assortment of herbs he dusted across the crust and cheese.

  “No, I’m pretty sure he still hates her,” Xavier said as he continued to mash the buttons on his controller.

  “Seriously, bro?”

  “Oh, was that supposed to be, like, a secret or something?” Xavier asked, glancing over his shoulder at us. “Because he’s done an awful job of keeping it to himself.”

  Cade sighed and I laughed.