Lost Causes

by Mia Marshall

  He rolled his shoulders to release the tension that built while he was telling his story.

  “That was twenty years ago. Because I left when my magic was joined, I got to stay sane.” He grimaced. “More or less.”

  “That’s the cure, then? Let one of those ancient fuckers mess with Ade’s magic?” Sera’s words were level, but her anger rose. Anger and fear. She threw the rock she’d been holding. It flew so close to Luke’s ear it lifted his hair as it passed. He didn’t flinch.

  “I tried to tell you. You didn’t want to hear it, not really.” He exhaled. “And maybe I didn’t want to relive it. That’s on me. I should have tried harder. I guess I thought Aidan had a chance, more than I did. She’s in better shape than I was when I stumbled onto the first, and she has you guys.”

  “We’re not going back there.” Mac’s tone left no room for argument, though no one was inclined to disagree.

  Miriam pursed her lips in thought. “Luke, did you get anything else from her, like where the others are? Or if they’re all batshit crazy?”

  “That first is the only one I ever heard about, and I don’t think they learn about each other. In their own way, they’re more trapped than I ever was. Another first might not be as far gone. This one was in better shape when I was with her, though she was already growing hungry. The bodies suggest she progressed to starving. She probably consumed all their power to fuel herself. Other firsts might not be so awful, not if they’re feeding regularly.”

  It was a huge risk. The others could be even worse than what we’d found on the Utah hilltop. No reasonable person would seek out another of those creatures.

  I didn’t get to be a reasonable person. “So we need to find another ancient creature born of the earth’s first magic and hope this one won’t try to kill us on sight. No big deal,” I said.

  Sera snorted, and for a moment things felt normal, like we weren’t planning a course of action that led to death and destruction.

  “Does anyone have any idea where to even begin looking?” I wasn’t too optimistic, and I wasn’t sure I heard correctly when Vivian spoke up.

  “I do.”

  I didn’t think she wanted to continue. Vivian enjoyed helping, but she preferred to do it behind a computer, from the comfort of her office. Generally, she wasn’t a fan of situations that led to chaos and bloodshed. She wasn’t timid. She just wasn’t as stupid as the rest of us.

  Despite her reluctance, she squared her shoulders and finished her thought. “I know where another first is.”

  “Hawaii? Seriously?” Sera hadn’t said much else since Vivian delivered the news.

  She paced up and down the aisle of the bus, now heading west. It was Mac’s turn to drive, which meant, for once, we weren’t traveling at a speed that threatened to make the bus implode around us.

  The minute Vivian informed us another first lived near Sera’s home, my sister demanded we start driving and debate the merits of this new plan along the way. That was her version of patiently waiting for more information.

  “Where? I grew up there. My family’s compound is there. I never heard anything about this.”

  “There are lots of islands,” I said.

  “Not that many.” She sat down in a huff. “You’re telling me the thing we needed was right under Josiah’s nose and he had no clue?”

  Sera stared at the roof, considering. She was so familiar with the islands she could navigate them with her eyes closed. “There’s Niihau, which is almost completely cut off from the public. Population of about six hundred. Kahoolawe is uninhabited, but that’s cause there’s no fresh water and the U.S. Navy liked to shoot guns there. A gathering of elementals would be noticed in either place.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” Miriam stared at Sera, incredulous. “You elementals are constantly hiding in plain sight. From what you’ve told me, your family compound is underneath a damn volcano, yet somehow no vulcanologist or tourist has ever found a bit of evidence. Brook’s family has an island right out in the open, yet somehow it disappears from any map the minute it’s found.”

  I acknowledged the point. “We’re pretty much a cartographer’s urban legend.”

  Sera wasn’t convinced. “Are we pretending this first has Vivian-level computer skills and can erase herself from existence?”

  Vivian was offended at the mere suggestion. “Of course not. I don’t understand it, but this island has found a way to stay hidden.”

  Sera plopped down on the seat across from Vivian. “Right. What have you got?”

  Vivian nudged Sera with her laptop, asking her to look at the map.

  “Right there. Josiah gave latitude and longitude, though I had to work through several layers of encryption to find this. The man intended for this to remain a secret. I’m almost positive this is where the other first lives.”

  Simon studied it over her shoulder. “Correct me if I am wrong, but that spot does not appear to be an island.”

  I sat behind Vivian and adjusted my position so I could also see the map. The spot she indicated was, in fact, in the middle of the ocean.

  Vivian clicked and brought up another map. “This image is archived from a year ago. Check again.” This time, there was a tiny blur in the same spot.

  I squinted. It wasn’t as defined as the other islands on the map, but we were definitely looking at something. “An island that appears and disappears? Please tell me we aren’t searching for Brigadoon.”

  “What makes you believe a first is there?” Sera asked.

  It was a fair question. Josiah wouldn’t have kept a map with an arrow and “First magic here” scrawled in red ink.

  Vivian reclaimed her computer and pressed a few buttons, then leaned back, posture rigid. She watched Sera the way one might watch a ticking bomb. “There’s nothing in the files to indicate Josiah was aware of the connection between firsts and the cure.” Vivian took a long drink of water. “Sera, I’m not sure how to tell you this.”

  “Tell me what? Vivian, you’re not Simon. Stop drawing this out.”

  In a single breath, Vivian did just that. “He wasn’t trying to find the first magic. He was looking for your mother.”

  Sera didn’t pale or shout or even blink. She stood up, gripped the seat backs on either side of the aisle, and watched Vivian with blazing black eyes.

  “Explain.”

  Instead of speaking, Vivian punched another button to pull up a photo. Sera stood next to me, still refusing to sit. Together, we stared at a picture we’d never seen before.

  It was a scanned photo of a small sailboat, taken by someone standing on the dock as it pulled out of the harbor. One woman hoisted the sails while the other sat in the boat’s stern, watching the land recede. Both their faces were alight with joy. I didn’t recognize the one doing the work. She had blond hair and blue-green eyes and looked like a strong beach, maybe even a full.

  I’d hadn’t met the woman at the railing, but I didn’t need to be told who she was. Her skin was a lighter shade of bronze than some fires, due to being half human, but her hair was a wild mass of curls and her eyes turned up at the corners like the woman standing next to me. Sera’s mom wore a v-neck sundress with oversized flowers on the skirt, and the other had flared white pants with a patterned wrap top. The photo had yellowed with time.

  “Viv, when was this photo taken?” The words were strangled.

  Vivian’s eyes were too soft, too full of pity. “According to Josiah’s notes, 1973. Two days before her death. Her official death, that is.”

  Sera said nothing, but two seats near Mac burst into flames.

  Miriam sauntered to the front of the bus. She grabbed the fire extinguisher and doused the flames as casually as she would water plants.

  I watched Sera, hoping the entire bus wouldn’t explode when Vivian answered my next question. I reached for my fire side, just in case. “Is she still alive?”

  Vivian didn’t stammer or hesitate. “I can’t say. I only know that she did
n’t die when you were told she did.”

  Tiny sparks flew from Sera’s fingers faster than any Fourth of July firework. “How is this possible? I went to her funeral. I was there when the body was lowered into the volcano to rest with her ancestors. She was dead.”

  Vivian pressed a key. “I didn’t find her by searching for Aidan’s cure.” She said nothing more, letting us put the pieces together ourselves.

  It was another photo, this time of a woman with gray eyes and curly brown hair. She leaned against a railing with a close-mouthed smile. A small boy with slate gray eyes and brown hair stood next to her, face somber. Two stone elementals in a family portrait.

  The truth was right in front of me, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. He couldn’t have. Yes, his morals were flexible, but this would have been a step too far, even for him.

  “The boy in the car,” Simon murmured.

  It was a photo of David, taken years before. The stone I’d murdered. The man who claimed Josiah killed his mother. The man who’d hated my father since he was ten years old, hated him so much he spent decades following Josiah, trying to find any weakness that would allow him to kill the oldest fire in the world.

  The same man who told my father that he was “the boy in the car” right before he stabbed him.

  It shouldn’t have been true. No one would do that to an innocent. Even Josiah wouldn’t protect his daughter if it meant ruining another child’s life.

  Except we both knew better. Josiah would have wiped out a continent to protect his children.

  The stone was the right height, and her build was similar. Like fires, stones were muscular, if not as curvy. Her hair was lighter, but a bit of dye would have sorted that out quickly. If she was disfigured in a horrible accident…

  Miriam rejoined us and studied the photos. “Vivian, how the hell did she die?”

  Vivian didn’t have a chance to speak before Sera bit out the answer. “Her car drove over a cliff. Near the volcano, right?”

  Vivian waited. She didn’t contradict anything Sera said.

  “And David was in the backseat. He watched Josiah take his mother, because my father needed a corpse to bury. He murdered her and destroyed her son, then hid it from me my entire life. The fucking bastard.” The last words burst from her, each syllable a small explosion. She paced up and down the aisle, the movement growing faster and more agitated. “How do I find out if she’s alive, Viv?”

  “The last time anyone saw her, she was headed for the first’s island. You’ll need to start there.”

  Sera didn’t need any more information. She spun around and took long strides to the front of the bus. “Move.”

  Mac’s shifter ears had picked up the entire conversation, and he didn’t argue. He barely managed to pull the bus to the side of the road before she tugged at his arm, demanding he move from the driver’s seat. As soon as Sera took his place, she pressed the accelerator to the floor. The engine groaned in protest, but even it couldn’t resist Sera’s will. Tires squealed as we pulled onto the road, leaving black rubber behind.

  I kept my voice low, though I doubted Sera even heard the rest of our conversation. All her attention was focused on a small island thousands of miles away.

  “How is Sera’s mom connected to the first?”

  “This folder is all about Helen Blais, from about a year before her supposed death. There are notes from investigators, photos, that sort of thing. Josiah was paranoid, but this time it was justified. She planned to leave him.”

  Vivian showed me another photo, this one of her mother sitting at a cafe with the blond woman. Their heads were bent together, as if they didn’t wish to be overheard. Another showed them on a park bench. They were intimate pictures, but they looked more like two women who shared a secret than shared a bed.

  “What are we supposed to be seeing?” Mac asked. He’d moved next to me. I welcomed the solid warmth of his body. It felt wrong to be comforted while Sera’s world was unravelling, but I was okay with wrong when it came in a Mac-shaped package.

  “Nothing, yet.” She swiped the trackpad, and a handwritten note appeared. The ink had faded, but it was still legible. It was addressed to Sera’s mom.

  Helen, I cannot believe I’m writing this at last, but I found proof. The first magics do exist, and I’ve found one. It’s so close! Only two days by boat. We can witness this miracle and return before anyone notices we’re gone! Tell Josiah and Sera you’re visiting family on Oahu. I will wait for your response. Kathy.

  It was dated a week before Sera’s mom officially died in a car accident.

  “But why would he lie?” I asked. “Why not tell Sera her mother left? Many parents try to protect their kids from grief, but his solution was unthinkable.”

  I slid my fingers through Mac’s hand, gripping his palm. He held me as tightly, as if afraid I might slip away.

  “I didn’t know Josiah well,” he said, “but I don’t think he’d have protected Sera from the grief of her mother leaving. Wouldn’t that still be better than believing she died? He might even like being the ‘good’ parent in her eyes, the one who stuck around.”

  “Then what…” I didn’t need to finish.

  Josiah was making sure Sera never went looking for her mother. Never followed her.

  Sera’s mom and her friend had willingly traveled to the island for a short visit. As far as we knew, they hadn’t returned.

  And we were about to do the same thing.

  CHAPTER 11

  “No.” Simon stared at the immense metal beast rising above him. I thought I actually saw his hackles rise. “Not again.”

  “Only way across the ocean.”

  “Airplane.” He spoke the word with absolute certainty, as though I’d asked him the sum of two plus two, a question to which there was only one possible answer.

  I wished he was right. I’d rather be at the airport than watching a container ship load in Long Beach, California.

  Flying would be a hell of a lot faster, and while I dreaded what waited for us in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, any further delay could cost us dearly. Sera had parceled out the drug as much as she could, filling four syringes with a few drops each. We’d run out of time.

  Vivian stood next to Simon, studying the vessel with only a little less dread. Just as waters weren’t overly fond of the desert and fires didn’t vacation in the Arctic Circle, earths would find pretty much any excuse to avoid boats—particularly when the boat wouldn’t be near land for the next five days.

  “We can’t fly.” She’d already said this, but Vivian needed to remind herself. “Even if we were willing to risk a connection, it would be stupid to break into the TSA’s system. If I left any footprint behind in the current political climate, deleted footage would raise too many eyebrows. And that other hacker… he’s good. If we fly openly, he’ll find us.”

  I’d never heard Vivian express doubt before. A week ago, she would have scoffed at the idea of being caught or outmaneuvered. If I ever met that blue-shirted bastard, I’d give him my nastiest look. Then, when he started laughing, I’d ask Miriam to beat him up.

  Sera strode down the gangway, returning from her discussion with the captain. Her movements were even more determined than usual, her eyes more intent.

  “Did you figure it out?” I called when she was within earshot.

  “Yeah. He’s got a couple of no shows. If the captain sticks us in their cabins, he can keep us off the books, which means he also gets to keep all our money. I do mean all our money, too. If the agents hadn’t arranged that nice anonymous transfer, we’d be screwed. I was only able to keep a hundred or so.”

  “One-way trip, then?”

  The question had multiple meanings, and Sera ignored the scarier one. “My family has a small armada. They won’t notice if we take a few.”

  Simon hadn’t moved his eyes from the ship. He seemed to think, if he stared at it hard enough, it might transform into a plane or perhaps an especially long bridge.
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  “A week surrounded by the ocean on that… thing, and then we transfer to smaller boats? I do not plan to speak to any of you for the foreseeable future.”

  “It’s not an issue. You’re not going.” I didn’t realize I’d made the decision until I spoke, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized it was the only possible choice.

  They yelled at me simultaneously, voices rising to be heard over each other. Together, they accused me of being stubborn, of trying to handle too much on my own, of refusing their help. Miriam added a few anatomically impossible suggestions for what I could do with that particular idea.

  “She’s right,” Sera said. “It’s too dangerous. You’re not going.”

  Mac already stood next to me, but at her words he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

  Sera rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. You have a ticket, Mac.”

  Vivian’s fingers curled into fists. “You already made the decision for the rest of us?”

  For as long as I’d known her, Vivian didn’t get mad. At most, she became a bit peeved. Watching her face darken, I thought this trip might have pushed her over the edge.

  She continued to glare at us. “I’m here because I wanted to be with you and help however I can. Don’t you dare take that choice away from me.”

  “You’re not thinking, Brook.” Miriam said. “Are you really planning on infiltrating the home of some homicidal magic bitch without Simon’s spy skills? Or maybe an otter who can sneak onto shore in a way no boat can?” She glared at me, trying to force her words into my thick skull. “Plus, sailors have nothing to do but gamble. Give me a week, and we’ll be flush. I might also be a happier woman after a week with sailors.”