Elemental Reality (25 page)

32

Battle Field

The morning light woke me. I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes and stretched. Taking a quick look around, everyone was sleeping close together except for Joey who was on lookout duty. I stood up to go find a place to relieve my bladder, but on accident stepped on a small twig. The infinitesimal crack had Joey on high alert. He spun around, body glowing and fists clenched, ready to attack. I held up my hands in surrender.

“Sorry,” I said, apologetic.

His glow dimmed when he saw it was only me. “It’s okay, mate. You all right?”

“Yup. Just need to go to the little girls room.”

“Don’t venture too far,” he warned.

“Eye, eye, captain.” Once I finished with my business, I grabbed a bottle of water and a granola bar out of Dad’s bag and rested against the tree again. Oli rolled over and situated his head in my lap. I put my water down and gently ran my fingers through his hair the same way my mom used to do to me.
Don’t let this journey be for nothing.

Oli sighed softly. “That is unbelievably relaxing.”

“I know,” I murmured. “My mom would do this when I couldn’t sleep.”

“I can see why, but I don’t want to go back to sleep.” He chuckled. He rolled onto his back and stared up at me as he ran his knuckles over my cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

My cheeks heated as I smiled down at him. We leaned our heads together and kissed as if we were the only ones around.

“Ew. Gross. Get a room, you two,” Lola griped. “It’s way too early for sexcapades, and there isn’t enough bleach in the entire universe to remove those kinds of images from my brain.”

“You’re just jealous, mate,” Oli joked.

“As if.” Lola was always grumpy in the morning, especially before she consumed any type of caffeinated beverage. Alien vs. Predator looked like fluffy bunnies compared to a grouchy Lola.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Dad interrupted. “Are we ready to go?”

Though I was in desperate need of a toothbrush, I nodded in agreement along with everyone else, and we were off again. My legs ached from the day before. Lola had run track for years, so she was better suited for such a journey. I, on the other hand, thought trekking down our quarter mile long driveway was as close to a marathon as I would ever get. The “bloodhounds” role Lola and I had taken on to seek the fires of Palon was unsuccessful for the first half of the day. For as far as we ventured, I couldn’t believe we still hadn’t come across any change in temperature. Hell, I would have been happy if the temperature went colder. Any change would have done. But, I digress. This was going to turn out to be a never-ending quest. To everyone’s annoyance, except Oli who found it hilarious, I sung and hummed “it’s the quest that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends” for the better part of the morning. I wanted to fly to rest my legs, but I couldn’t because there was a possibility I might miss a change in temperature. Lola was also anxious to fly, as she had gone all Mexican Jumping Bean, constantly expanding her wings to stretch them.

I was ready to give up on us finding Palon when Lola grabbed my arm and froze mid-step. Everyone halted, their anticipation so palpable I could literally feel it growing and expanding around us. They wanted to know if this was it just as much as I did. I was just about to ask Lola when a wave of heat rolled over my body like a tidal wave crashing upon shore. I stiffened and gazed into Lola’s terror-stricken eyes.

“Crap,” I whispered. “It’s happening.” We all formed a line and stood in ready stance waiting for something—anything—to happen. Another awful heat wave rolled over, me but this time it was like I had been shoved into a pit of fire. Oli, Joey, and Dad all seemed unfazed by it, but Lola looked exactly how I felt. Her skin glistened with perspiration.

“It’s really hot. Like, unnaturally hot,” I explained.

“She’s right. I’m sweating like a lady having a hot flash during menopause,” Lola said in annoyance.

She was right, it was awful. I conjured up a small ball of water, threw it in the air, and let it splash on my head. I hated how strong the fire element was when I was around it. I heard Oli and Lola both snicker.

“Great use of your powers, Cal,” Lola snorted.

“What?” I stuck out my tongue. “I was sweating like I stole something, which, by the way, was more than you were.” I splashed water over my body again, relishing in the coolness for the few seconds I could.

“You’re right about that, Lola,” Oli exclaimed. He watched me in amusement. “Kitten, you’re one troppo sheila.”

My eyes met his. “You’re so adorable when you use your Aussie slang in front of me.” I leaned over to give him a kiss but was interrupted.

“Get serious, you three,” Dad commanded. “Don’t let your guard down for anything. They’re much closer than we think.”

I put the playfulness aside for now, and surveyed everyone else. Seriousness rolled over me. I wasn’t ready for a fight; all I wanted was Mom back and all of this to be over with. I linked my fingers with Oli’s, and he gave me a reassuring smile as he squeezed my hand. I stared off into the distance before me. The waves of heat that rolled over the fields in front of us reminded me of asphalt on a hot summer’s day. It was deafeningly silent and eerily vacant. My whole body vibrated, and for a moment I thought it was my knees shaking from being so nervous. That was until I realized it was the ground trembling beneath us. The vibrations grew stronger. As if a stampede of animals were coming at us. The strange thing was that there was nothing in sight.

The sound of really thick fabric being ripped rang out beneath our feet. It made us all jump back as the ground broke away. The heat that oozed from it was so intense it was like actually being on fire. I lifted my head so I could splash water on my face and froze. Six demons loomed out of nowhere and rose before us.

“Are we ready for this?” I asked Lola, but her attention was on the Demons. “Lola?”

She ignored me and walked towards them. “Lola, stop,” I shouted. She didn’t listen.

The Demons outstretched their arms as if welcoming her, and I gasped.

“Guys,” I said warily. “Lola, come back,” I demanded. The others were joining in, not knowing what to do.

Lola continued towards them. I had to get her, to stop her. “Dad,” I cried.

He ran after her and reached her just in time to pull her back to us.

“I have to go over to them. You don’t understand. Please let me go,” Lola cried. The thing was? She wasn’t possessed. I could tell by the look in her pleading eyes.

“Stay together,” Dad said. “That’s the rule.”

Tears fell from Lola’s eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice hysterical and frantic. I glanced over at the Demons with their arms still outstretched like they were taunting us.

Lola cried harder. “It hurts so much. I need to be with him.”

I was confused. “Who, Lola?”

“I don’t know but I need to be with him.” I’d never heard her sound so desperate before, and a part of my heart broke away.

Oli refused to drop my hand. I guess I couldn’t blame him, all things considered. I reached out to comfort her when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Demons begin to move; they now had my full attention. With one flick of their wrists the ground rumbled again and flames shot up, creating a wall of fire around us, isolating us from each other. Oli and I still had our hands intertwined, but the burn from the fire was too much for us to handle. My hand fell from his as the fire filled in the hole. I tried to pass through the firewall, but it was impossible without burning myself. It was like a brick wall surrounding me, no matter how hard I tried to call on the element. These Demons were cunning and knew separating us would give them the upper hand. Something crackled behind me, and I whipped around as a Demon walked through the wall. It lowered its hood and revealed himself.

“Cayden,” I growled.

I should have known his warning was a trick from the very beginning. A surge of elements gushed through me as the purple glow I’d become accustomed to brightened the skin on my palms. We ran at each other, anxious to attack. I went all pro football player as I pummeled into him, and my shoulder connected hard with his chest. I flinched from the sharp pain that shot through my arm. Probably not smart without padded protection, I thought. Cayden stumbled backward from my attack, caught off-guard. A malicious sneer twisted his features when he rebalanced himself. I needed an escape route. Being enclosed like this turned me all kinds of claustrophobic. I glanced up and the clear blue sky marred with the smoke from the fire. Taking flight would be the easy way out. Not today. There was a battle that needed winning.

“Don’t even think about it, Callie.”

My eyes snapped to Cayden’s. “I can’t believe you wanted me to trust you. I may be blonde, but I’m definitely not dumb.”

He came at me in two longs strides and pinned me against the wall. My backside burned as the fire licked at my exposed skin.

“Shut up,” he growled, though the terror in his aqua eyes didn’t match.

“You don’t scare me,” I practically snarled.

“Oh, Callie. Callie. Callie. Callie.” He shook his head. “If only you would have cooperated, none of this would have happened. I feel bad about killing those you love.”

“Why are you acting like this now?” I asked, voice panicked. “What was the point of coming to my house that night and warning me about getting to Tehokas City? Why were you pushing me to save my mom?”

His actions confused me. Was it possible that he was forced to play the desperate Demon as a ruse to get us here quicker? Or was this side of him an act he had to put on so as not to get hurt?

His eyes went wide. “I told you not to mention that. There are things going on that you won’t understand.”

There was an inkling of fear in his eyes for a brief second before he went back into character.

“You’re too quick to trust people, Callie,” he taunted, stalking me like a graceful creature of death. “I knew if I acted sincere and scared enough you’d believe me, especially since I didn’t unleash my darkness on you. So will you cooperate now? Or do I have to kill someone close to you?”

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek; his touch left a burning sensation in its wake. I jerked my head away, and he grabbed my ponytail and wrenched my head back. I let out a small cry. It seemed to please him. The triumphant smile showed that my pain was his pleasure.

“You better start obeying me,” he snapped. “Don’t you realize I
control whether or not your loved ones die?”

I had to think of a plan and fast. What would make him drop his guard?
Think, Callie.

“Please don’t hurt them. I’ll be yours. I promise,” I begged. I deserved a damn Golden Globe for that performance.

I snaked my hand around the back of his head to pull him closer to me. His grip loosened in my hair. I placed my other hand on his chest just as his head tilted down over mine. Right as his lips grazed mine, I unleashed my elemental wrath into him. He flew back and tumbled through the firewall again cheerleader style. I turned in circles and waited for him to return. A fireball flew at my face. My training with Oli flashed in my vision. I automatically stuck my hand out like a catcher in a baseball game and absorbed the ball of fire. I hid my hands behind my back and immediately conjured my own special elemental ball. I held it until Cayden stepped back into the circle, and then I threw it at him dead-on. It struck him square in the chest. A wicked smile splayed across his lips before he staggered and fell to the ground with a thud.

I stood in shock for a moment, not sure if I had actually knocked him out or if he was playing a trick on me. When he appeared to be motionless, I let out a loud, happy laugh and did a victory dance which consisted of shimmies and shakes. My dance was cut short when Oli’s roaring scream thundered around me. I’d been so focused on my own little battle that I’d completely forgot about everyone else. I turned in the direction of his shriek, thinking I’d see something, but the firewall was still burning behind me. Those few seconds that I lost focus gave Cayden the upper hand that I was trying to avoid. I turned around vigorously as a massive fireball smashed into my chest.

My entire body lost gravity as I flew through the firewall with the impact of Cayden’s fireball. My chest was set ablaze, this fire seemingly different than any other I’d ever dealt with. The pain and burning had engulfed me fully, but it wasn’t a visible fire that had me consumed; the fire was eating me from the inside. I wanted the pain to stop, and it did once my body slammed into the ground. The wind in my lungs immediately rushed out of me, deciding it wasn’t happy with me and was taking a vacation. My vision went in and out of focus as tiny black dots danced in front of my face. Little birds coo-cooed above my head cartoon style. I did my best to stay conscious, but the impact from being slammed to the ground had knocked me dumb. Better than burning alive, I thought wryly. Cayden loomed over me, the start of an evil grin spreading across his lips. And then the proverbial hammer hit home, knocking me out completely.

I stirred, and my eyes fluttered open. Above me the sky seemed hazy with streaks of blue peeking through. I wondered how long I’d been unconscious and where everyone was. Or if they were alive. I sat up gradually to keep myself from joining the Knocked Stupid club. Every muscle in my body ached as I moved. The back of my head pounded something fierce. My whole body was as sore as if a giant boulder had been dropped on me. Perhaps a baby grand piano was involved after all. I held my head and groaned. Ugh.