The Lightning Conjurer

by Rachel Rener

  A loud knock sounded on my dressing room door, followed by Eileen’s grating voice. “Savannah! Are you ready yet?”

  “I might be if they’d provided us with something bigger than a washcloth! How the hell does anyone fit in this thing? …Hey!” I let out a loud yelp as the door burst open, doing my best to shield myself with my micro-towel.

  Eileen rolled her eyes. As tiny as she was, she’d wrapped her towel around herself twice. “You’re going to be naked out there anyway! Now hurry up – I’m freezing!”

  “Haven’t these people heard of bathing suits?”

  “In what world would a Japanese bikini top fit those?” she smirked.

  I glanced down at my breasts. Though I wanted to punch her for saying it, she wasn’t wrong.

  “Alright, dude, I’m not waiting a second more. Come outside or don’t. As for me, I’m gonna go defrost.”

  Grimacing, I threw on the slippers they’d given us – again, not something sensible like a bathing suit, but slippers – and steeled myself against the arctic blast that was waiting to assault me outside those sliding bamboo doors. And even then, it was so much worse than I thought. At least the snow had finally stopped, though ominous clouds hovered in front of the full moon, threatening to dump more on our heads. With a muffled shriek, I darted across the icy wooden planks, skidding to a stop just behind Eileen. She was standing at the edge of the steaming on-sen or whatever they called it, boldly dropping her towel on a nearby bench just before daintily dropping into the pool. I myself wasn’t so quick or eager to strip down to my birthday suit, as fabulous as it was; sure, it was dark out, but the torches illuminated enough. At least the steam from the water was shrouding everyone’s naked bodies beneath the surface.

  Speaking of bodies, Kumiko was somehow already there, submerged in piping water up to her chin, her midnight-blue hair knotted into two twin buns on either side of her head and the burns on her face freshly bandaged. Eileen and her blindingly-white ass settled in next to her. And of course, several feet away from them – I tried not to goggle – was the one body I actually wanted to see.

  Aiden sat on the far side of the pool, his dark curls slicked away from his forehead. His chest and shoulders were above the water, as was his injured arm, and droplets of perspiration clung to his delicious olive skin. He was looking upwards, probably to give Eileen some privacy as she entered, which gave me a chance to inspect that mouthwatering body of his more closely. His shoulder and eyebrow had been stitched up nicely, but deep purple bruises covered his arms and chest. The sight bothered me, so I shifted my attention to the lean edges and planes of his upper torso, the taut skin of his muscular pecs and rounded deltoids. He’d always been suspiciously muscle-y for a college professor, but this? This was a whole new level of sexy. As he glanced in my direction, I felt my cheeks heat. Every other inch of my exposed body was covered in goosebumps and practically blue from the cold. As much as I wanted to dart in the opposite direction, pride alone propelled me forward. Putting on my best nonchalant face, I let the absurdly small towel drop away and sauntered to the edge of the pool. Without pausing to test the temperature, I sank into the water, yelping as scalding water met frostbitten skin.

  “It’s very hot, Savannah-san,” Kumiko remarked.

  If she hadn’t been face-down on the ground an hour ago, that would have earned her a suitably-snarky retort. Instead, as my skin practically melted off my bones, I put on my best friendly smile and asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Oh, Savannah-san, their healers are unbelievable!” she marveled, shaking her own bandaged head in disbelief. “I have never seen anything like it.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  As she spoke, I scooted along the edge of the hot tub-sized spring, keeping my eyes firmly on Kumiko so it wouldn’t seem like I was intentionally trying to get closer to Aiden. Which I was. Fiancée or not, it really did seem like he was warming up to me. And I’d likely never be that close to his naked body again. Unless there actually is something going on between Ori and Rowan, I couldn’t help but allow myself to think.

  Whatever. Sue me. It had been a really, really long time since I’d last been laid. And despite the fact that I’d been incredibly drunk the one time he and I hooked up, it easily went down as one of the greatest nights of my life. He was that good. I felt my cheeks flush again as I remembered that sizzling evening, short-lived as it was. He was gone before I even woke up.

  “I can’t believe you’re even sitting here with us, Kumiko-san,” Eileen said, settling beside her. “When you fell to the ground, I was so scared. I honestly thought—”

  “It was close, Eileen-san,” Kumiko admitted, her bruised expression somber. “I am very lucky that the minister’s physician came when he did. And I am grateful that Yasutake-sama used his powers to help me. Skilled Hydromancers can stop bleeding, and some Auromancers can oxidize blood to help cells heal and regenerate. But he did so much more than that, combining all three of his Elements. I… I’m not even sure I can explain. In some ways, I feel better than I did before the fight.”

  By then, I was only about a foot away from Aiden, though I was pretty sure he’d begun inching away from me at that point. I exhaled in an impatient huff. His chivalry was almost irritating. Worse, the water was super cloudy from all the “healing” minerals in it. So, no fantastic view from this front-row seat, either. Sigh. I needed to focus on something else, preferably something boring, before someone noticed me leering – well, trying to leer, anyway.

  “Barish was able to use Auromancy and Electromancy to reduce oxidation inside his body,” I remarked in an equally boring tone. “He also used Electromancy to cleanse his body of free radicals by manipulating all of the unstable electrons floating around his blood. It was a process so complex, only a true master of multiple Elements could do it. And that’s not taking into account the other Electromantic methods he employed to ward off cognitive and neurogenic diseases… Very few people know that he did all of that,” I added proudly. “Anyway, as I mentioned, Teru himself taught Barish those methods many years ago.”

  “Teru—?” Kumiko practically choked. What was it with these people and names? After recomposing herself from the utter shock of my cute, harmless nickname, she took a deep breath and continued. “They told me I had internal bleeding and a contusion on my brain from when my head hit the ground,” she pointed just above her right ear. “Bruises everywhere. But now, I do not even have a headache. Hontōni sugoi yo…” she muttered, forgetting to speak English.

  “Why didn’t you have them fix your bruises?” I asked Aiden.

  He shrugged. “Kumiko and the two Wilders took the brunt of the damage. I thought it best that they receive the healers’ attention. A few stitches and some balm were all I needed.”

  I eyed the angry-looking burn that ran across his arm, the one he wouldn’t submerge in the water, but said nothing. He should have gotten more attention. But he liked to be a martyr like that.

  “Aspen mentioned that she wanted to sit down with their healers and learn more,” Aiden said, stretching both arms above his head. I did everything I could not to drool as those muscles rippled and flexed with the casual movement. “She’s hoping she can bring some of those skills back to her neuroscience program. Before, she and Dr. Shirvani were just focusing on Electromantic cures for neurological disorders. But with this discovery, they could employ other types of Elementalists as well. The number of lives they could potentially save is tremendous.”

  “And here Teru thought we were running around killing people,” I muttered. “It’s a good thing Mei showed up when she did.”

  “And Aspen, too,” Eileen added pointedly.

  “Uh-huh.”

  She frowned. “Savannah – she saved your life. She literally jumped from a helicopter—”

  “She’s Auromantic!” I protested. “We can literally fly when we need to.”

  “—and then stood between Yasutake-sama’s blade and your neck.”

  I o
pened my mouth to give a very detailed retort on the many ways ‘Aspen’ had directly and/or indirectly tried to kill me over the years, not to mention the fact that her higher-than-thou piousness was enough to make me want to jump off a bridge, when – speak of the devil – she and Ori appeared. They came striding in via the stone path as opposed to the bathhouse and were fully clothed, Ori in his wool jacket and her in that wannabe motorcycle club leather. Neither one seemed properly dressed for the cold, but then again, there was a good chance she was warming the air around them. Difficult to do without actively concentrating, but then again, she was little miss perfect at practically everything.

  Which made me all the more gleeful when her eyes took in the scene in front of her – three naked women, including myself, cozied up around her also-naked fiancé. Sure, it hadn’t been remotely sexual (save for my own lewd fantasies), and he’d done nothing but avert his eyes the entire time, but she didn’t need to know that.

  “Uh… hey guys,” she said, her cheeks flushing as deeply as her eyes had widened.

  “Dude – no one explained that ‘healing springs’ meant naked hot tub party,” Ori’s jaw practically scraped the ground. “Why did no one tell me about this?!”

  “We didn’t know until the attendant in the bathhouse told us to strip off our clothes,” Aiden replied, his expression almost sheepish as he locked eyes with Rowan, who was looking less and less pleased by the second. I bit back a grin – it didn’t take an Electromancer to see that there was definitely trouble in paradise.

  “This is Japanese tradition,” Kumiko chimed in. “Many onsen are enjoyed in the nude. And this one is making my body feel so much better,” she sighed happily.

  “Yeah, but… co-ed?” Rowan asked incredulously. Always so prude, that one.

  “Come and join us,” I called, pointedly directing my invitation to Ori. The man drove me nuts, but he did generally look like he’d walked straight off the page of an Israeli fashion magazine. Once I tuned out the incessant stream of idiocy that frequently tumbled out of his mouth, he too was a very mouth-watering sight.

  “We didn’t come to bathe – and Ori can’t get his bandages wet anyway,” Rowan interjected. “We just came to check on all of you after… what happened back there.”

  “We’re still trying to understand what exactly happened ourselves,” Aiden replied. Was his voice a little cooler than usual? “It went from awkward pleasantries to a death tournament awfully quickly.”

  Rowan flinched. “Nothing about what happened here is okay… And I’m so sorry we couldn’t come sooner.”

  “Uh-huh,” I muttered.

  She either didn’t hear me or pretended not to notice. “When we were on the helicopter, the minister was explaining to us that this tribe functions in some ways like our Amish do in the States – they avoid modern indulgences as much as possible, they’ve intentionally cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and they’re very wary of strangers – particularly Asterians. However, the youngest residents of Shirakawa-go haven’t been content with this way of life for some time, so they’ve recently started branching out from the village. Traveling, exploring the rest of the country, taking jobs in the big city… The elders, understandably, were extremely concerned about their children’s decision to stray far from home. So their response today was a visceral one, the culmination of many months spent expecting the worst – and then finding that their worst fears had come true.”

  “You see?” Ori donned that doofus grin of his. “It was perfectly rational for them to try to separate your heads from your bodies.”

  “Enough about that, Ori – what the hell happened to you?” Eileen demanded, eyeing his sling. “And why on Beyoncé’s green earth were you guys hanging out at a yakuza bar?”

  Before he could answer, Rowan took a step forward. “Ori got hurt because of me. I wasn’t paying attention and he literally jumped in front of a bullet to protect me.”

  “What?” we all practically gasped in unison.

  The color had all but drained out of Aiden’s face. “You two were supposed to be giving speeches at a rally. How the hell did you end up at a bar full of gangsters and guns?” I was a little surprised to hear the blunt accusation in his voice, until I realized he was directing the question at Ori.

  Oooh, this is gonna be good, I practically rubbed my palms together.

  Oddly enough, however, Ori didn’t snap back at Aiden or bristle at the unspoken indictment. Instead, he looked… Well, he looked really, really guilty. And more than a little uncomfortable. But why? I wondered. He’d literally just saved Aiden’s girlfriend. Shouldn’t he be crowing about that?

  “Perhaps the four of you could put on some clothes and we can go catch one another up,” Rowan interjected again, a tight smile painted on her face. “We have a lot to discuss… including next steps.”

  Eileen and Kumiko nodded and reached for their towels, though I couldn’t help but grumble. God forbid we just sit and relax in a hot spring for a few minutes after, you know, almost dying.

  “By the way, Eileen, I have good news.” Rowan smiled once Blondie had gotten out of the spring and properly wrapped a towel around herself. I personally was waiting for a little more privacy before hoisting myself out of the water. And maybe I was also waiting for Aiden to climb out so I could take in the glorious sight of him emerging from the spring, rivulets of water cascading down the taut, firm planes of his – oh, shit! My eyes darted to the empty space beside me. The man had moved so fast, he was already out and toweled up before I’d even realized.

  Damnit! I raged at the universe.

  “Oh, yeah?” Eileen asked, using a spare towel to dry her garish blonde-and-green hair. “‘Cause I could really use some good news right now.”

  At that, Rowan’s grin got even wider. “Sophia’s on her way. She’s meeting us in Paris tomorrow morning.”

  “No shit?!” Eileen banshee-screeched. “Are you even serious right now?”

  “Yep. She was worried when you weren’t answering her texts and was already heading to the airport when one of Mei’s people reached out to her.”

  “Oh my God, yes!” Eileen pumped her fist in the air, not caring a whit that she was wearing a washcloth. “Wait a minute… did you just say Paris?” When Rowan nodded, another fit of high-pitched squeals ensued.

  Well, that’s just great, I cursed to myself as I fumbled with my own terrycloth handkerchief on the edge of the pool. That’s just what I need… more of these idiots.

  At least I could console myself in the fact that Aiden actually gave me a small smile before making his way back to the bathhouse… and there was definitely tension between him, Ori, and Rowan. Witnessing that alone – and possibly letting my imagination run away with me should he finally decide to upgrade women – would make this trip worth it.

  As long as I didn’t die, of course.

  Chapter 16

  hen I was in 11th grade, I remember thinking that I would never again be as tired as I was at that very moment. I was sixteen years old, and my adoptive parents had just kicked me out of the house for coming out as gay. I’d been excommunicated by our church as well, and spent the rest of the school year living out of a duffle bag on friends’ couches. After several months of revolving futons, I found myself staying with an acquaintance who owned three asthmatic pugs that just happened to sleep in the same room as the fold-out couch I’d been offered. I never knew such tiny creatures could snore so loudly, nor that my face would be considered such prime doggy real estate. It was during that sleepless week that all four of my AP classes had scheduled final exams. I was a walking zombie as I shuffled from test to test; my neck was aching, I couldn’t remember what day it was, let alone what final I was taking, and as I squinted blearily at my Advanced Calculus final, I could feel a sob clawing its way into my throat – the kind that could quickly devolve into an unchecked fit of public hysterics. Swallowing it back, I consoled myself by saying, “If you can just get through this week, you’ll n
ever have to be this tired and frazzled ever again.” For years, I’d dutifully kept that promise, never settling for less than eight hours of sleep or waking up before 8:30 a.m. unless I absolutely had to.

  Until now.

  Now, I’d have given anything for a futon and a two-hour nap, even if it included breathing-impaired pugs. In less than a week, I’d traveled more than I ever thought possible in such a short period of time. Denver, Puerto Vallarta, back to Denver, and then rushing to Paris (via multiple stopovers given the last-minute nature of the booking), where I had a tearful reunion with Eileen and the others at Charles de Gaulle Airport. But before we could even take a breath of fresh air, the minister requested that the six of us make our way to a second known Wilder group located in the French Alps while her team led investigations into the handful of violent attacks that had recently occurred. So, we immediately boarded the smallest turboprop airplane I’d ever seen, which turned out to be more turbulent than the Tumbling Teacups ride at the Georgia State Fair. Poor Eileen had to use her air sickness bag more than once. Savannah, too.

  Unfortunately, our hasty trip to Chamonix had been complicated and largely unsuccessful. While the French Wilders had thankfully greeted us with coffee instead of hurling us down a mountainside like the Ancients had done to poor Eileen and the others, the inhabitants of the town weren’t exactly welcoming. It helped that both Savannah and I were able to communicate with them in French – one of us slightly more effectively than the other. Nevertheless, we found ourselves parting on unresolved terms. While they were unhappy to hear about a growing faction of Elementalists who deemed themselves superior to the other, “inferior” races on the planet, they weren’t quite sure to what extent they wanted to be involved, if any. To be fair, these townspeople were not like the super-powered villagers of Shirakawa-go. They were primarily Level-one Elementalists who used their abilities to clear pathways of snow, boil water, reheat leftovers, plant crops, and the like. And they were relatively unimpressed even with Aspen, whose abilities seemed superfluous to them rather than wondrous.