Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (14 page)

He lifted his hand. In no more than a second, a tiny tornado swirled above his palm. “Let’s start small.”

I
nodded, grateful his teaching method didn’t include assault.

TRUE TO HIS WORD, JETT RETURNED with Creed. I hadn’t seen him or Carissa for a while now, and I hoped he’d forgive me for pulling him away from her. I supposed being separated for millennia would make them eager to spend as much time together as possible.

Creed gave a low bow. “What can I do for you, my lady?”

I wanted to tell him to take over. After all, he’d been king of the entire world at one point in his life. But seeing him now, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. The man had gone through so much. For much of his existence on this planet, he’d been cursed. The wraith scared me still, even though I knew there was a decent person locked inside each hideous form. I had to remind myself over and over to not cower in the presence of the creatures of the borderlands.

When I’d changed Creed back to his original form, he’d lost his ability to communicate with the monsters he’d ruled. Wraith sound a bit like a hissing dragon when they talk, so they prefer to communicate telepathically. It’s why they make such great watchmen, but with their leader changed, things have been more difficult. My greatest desire is to free the cursed from their captive forms, yet the need to protect my people won’t let me do it. I’ve seen what Creed’s army can do, and it isn’t pretty.

“I need your help. We’ve planned a mission for the human realm, and stealth is imperative. I was hoping your soldiers would be willing to assist us.”

He took a sharp breath. “They are most eager to do so. We await your command.”

I couldn’t take his penetrating stare, so I paced in front of him, not bothering to hide my pent up nerves. “We understand the enemy has amassed quite an army of his own. He has also been stealing Elemental families. Our operatives have not been able to locate the signal of any who has been taken. I was hoping your troops might have other skills to assist us.”

From what I understood, borderland creatures were gifted with heightened abilities of detecting Elemental power, either from the fae or from Elementals. I hoped with all my heart this rumor was true.

Creed ran a hand through his sandy hair, leaving a disheveled path in its wake. “We will do all we can. When do we leave?”

“Today,” I blurted. I made myself stand straighter, bracing myself for Creed’s disappointment.

To my surprise, he smiled. “We’ve all been itching for a battle. I’ll alert my generals shortly. How long do we have to prepare?”

I suppressed the shrug I wanted to make. “How long will it take you to reach them?”

“I’ll return within the hour.”

Before he could leave, I clasped his arm. “I wondered if you could do me another favor.”

He offered the hint of a frown.
“Anything, my lady.”

“Would you please track down Gibbit and ask him to come see me?”

Jett cleared his throat, and I looked toward the door where he stood. At Jett’s side, the little troll crumpled his hat in his hands and bowed his head. I’d seen him like this before when he’d cowered before Ainessa. There was no way I would let him grovel in front of me. I raced to him and lowered to my knees to pull him into a hearty hug. Jett and Creed slipped out into the morning light, leaving me alone with my friend.

Gibbit shifted uncomfortably in my embrace, but I held on. “Thank you for coming.”

He let out a huff. “Weren’t like I had a choice, miss. What you want?”

I laughed, rising to my feet. Leave it to Gibbit to make a tense situation comical. I pushed my fingers into my pocket until they hit the cool metal of the necklace. I withdrew it slowly, watching my friend’s expression the entire time. At the first jiggling tinkle, he straightened, eyes honing onto what rested in my hand. He gulped as I exposed my palm. Stuttering, he asked, “Is
… is it goblin made?”

I smiled. “Do you think I would offer you anything less?”

Bending my knees, I held the gift to him. He snatched it with a swift swipe of his boxy digits. It was in his pocket before I could blink.

“There’s more where that came from if you can bring me word within the day.”

He licked a line of spittle forming on the side of his mouth. “What do ye want me to do?”

It was a tall order, but if anyone could do it, Gibbit could. “Find the Elementals Valen’s been hiding. He has complete families, and I want to know why, where they are, and what his plans are.”

He tipped his bald head to stare at me. “What else?”

“Thank you for helping me.”

His feet shuffled as if he itched to leave. “It’s a job. Help implies free.”

I smiled. “I’m more than happy to pay you. I’ve hired a few goblins to keep me in supply.”

He whistled. “They haven’t worked for thousands of years. What’d you offer to pay them?”

I knelt again, leveling our faces.
“Freedom.”

Gibbit nodded, pulling the necklace into view. The giant ruby pendant was shaped like a teardrop; housed in its diamond encrusted setting, it looked as if the stars were bleeding. He lifted the piece up to his lips and bit the stone. I frowned, wondering what on earth he was doing. He offered a large smile that covered most of his face. His yellowed teeth seemed intact, surprising as it was.
“Haven’t seen workmanship like this in quite some time. With such a prize, it’s no wonder, though. I’ll contact you within the hour.”

He vanished, leaving me with my thoughts. I rushed back to my bedroom to make sure Heath was awake. We had so much to do before we could leave, and I needed his help to round up our team.

When I entered the doorway, he patted the spot beside him on the bed. His bare torso rippled with his movement, and I became ensnared in the beauty of the man. After a moment, I made myself look at his face. He smiled, pumping his brows. I shook my head. “Get up. Have you forgotten? We’re going to war today.”

I WATCHED THE TORNADO EXPAND TO about a foot high then shrink to barely over an inch. The shape changed as tiny clouds collected around Taylor’s hand. I felt the pull of his gaze and caught him watching me. He smiled. “Each element has its opposite, and most often work in tandem when there is enough force behind the power. Even though I have abilities with air, I also have minor capacity for water and also fire.”

As if to show me, he lit a ball of fire in his other hand. I focused on one display, then the other, wondering how he could concentrate on both. For a moment I wished I could delve into his mind and dump his knowledge into mine. I hadn’t ever been one for watching, so I held out my palm, trying to copy the size of flame he wielded. Once I had it under control, I reached for the air element. Unlike fire, it wasn’t natural for me, but it was there. My skin tingled with the pull of the elements until a miniature funnel spun against my palm before it fizzled.

“Good,” said Taylor. “Drop the fire for a moment. We know your capacity for it. What we need to find out is how much control you can muster of the other four.”

I obeyed his command, surprisingly not at all disturbed by his orders. Most the time when others bossed me around, I did the opposite. All I wanted to do now was push myself until I broke. The fire extinguished with a thought, but it took more effort to get the whirlwind going. Sweat dripped into my eyes, but I didn’t dare wipe it away. Once I got the spin going nearly on its own, I attempted to expand the funnel. Even though the thing was technically in my palm, the entire area around me lit up with electric energy. Clouds formed before my eyes, darkening with every second. At first, mist coated my hand, the water particles as fine as a pinpoint, but soon the water chilled.

“What are you doing?” Taylor hissed.

I glanced at him, my mood shifting and spinning like the little powerhouse on my palm. I shrugged. “Just what feels
right.”

“No, don’t!”

He knocked me out of the way before a bolt of lightning shot from the ground to crackle in the air around us. I stumbled but caught my footing. I lowered myself to the grass, dizziness swarming my head. “What happened?”

With a short laugh, he took a seat opposite me. “I haven’t seen someone draw such electricity in quite some time. You might as well be a lightning rod.”

I frowned, parts of my childhood flowing into my mind. Whenever I was around home, things were fine. The weather acted normal, but every time I’d taken a trip to St. George with Dad, we’d hit a thunderstorm. He’d told me I was cursed. I’d laughed it off then, but I wondered how accurate his label was.

“I don’t ever want it to happen again. What did I do wrong?”

He shook his head. “It isn’t wrong, Travis. You simply need to learn more control over air. You have plenty of ability, but until the powers are used equally, you’ll end up with a volatile result.”

“Great,” I said.
“Another thing to keep me from leaving. As much as I’d love to learn everything I can from you, I don’t have time to waste.”

Taylor considered me for a moment,
then eased closer. He tipped his head back to gaze at the stars. They were bright enough I almost thought I could reach up and pluck them from the sky. One thing I appreciated about Taylor was he didn’t speak unless he had something useful to say.

His voice had a soothing cadence. “I once loved a girl as much as you seem to love yours. I rearranged the earth to keep her with me. She hated me for more than a hundred years, but I loved her from the moment she hit me in the face.”

Laughter burst out of me. Was this guy for real? “You loved her because she hit you?”

He shook his head, a secret smile playing at his lips. “I loved her because she fought my compulsion. The harder I tried to woo her, the more she fought to stay separate.”

At the mention of compulsion, I flinched. No one should be made to feel or do anything. My own experiences had shown me where force could lead. “How can you do it?”

He frowned in confusion.
“Compulsion?” When I nodded, he let out a huff. “Where do you people come up with these ideas? Compulsion is nothing more than a heightening of existing feelings. It takes thought out of it and leaves the desires of the heart.”

My jaw tightened. “You can justify it all you want, but it’s not right.”

“Right is a matter of opinion.”

“Right is right, dude. Ask any preacher.”

He laughed. “I have no desire to seek mortal sentiments. I know what lies in the eternities.”

“Yeah?”
I took a sidelong look to gauge his expression. He was totally serious. “Mind sharing some of your wisdom?”

He clapped my back before his hand snaked around the nape of my neck. “I cannot disclose anything I know about the afterlife to you or any mortal. If I did, I would condemn my people to an eternity of homelessness and misery.”

As excuses went, his was a good one. I shrugged. “It’s no fun knowing how things are going to turn out, anyway.”

He dropped his hand to his side. “I can at the very least verify the truth of your statement.”

For the first time, I realized it would totally suck to be fae. “I’m sorry, dude. That’s harsh.”

“Our fate is just. We have more here than we could have ever hoped for.”

“I thought you all were supposed to lose your memories with this whole deal. What’s up with that?”

His expression turned serious, the light of the moon casting deep shadows under his cheek bones. Not even a hint of bitterness showed in his answer, “We have not yet proven our worthiness for such a blessing.”

“Sounds like a huge undertaking.”

“The happiest day of my existence would be if I woke up and didn’t remember the years I’ve lived. Even if all I gained was a reprieve from my wrongdoings, I would be a happy man.”

I took a sharp breath, realizing he had more chance of shedding the past than I did. “Well, if anyone can figure out how to free you people, it’s Rayla.”

He smiled. “It’s what we’re counting on.”

HEATH LAUGHED AT ME—A COMMON occurrence lately.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had Ignisian blood within you.”

I smirked. “Only you would be excited to go to war
… I’m worried.”

“Fear is part of the lure. Overcoming terror has been my goal since I can remember. What better way than through battle?”

He surprised me often with the depth of his thoughts. When I first met Heath, he didn’t seem to care about anything. I’d learned over time he had done more to free Elementals than any fae. “I prefer to talk out my concerns. Casualties come from war.”

He sat up, throwing his long legs over the edge of the bed.
“Only for mortals. Strategy is never more important than when engaging an enemy you cannot kill.”

I walked to him and leaned down to plant a kiss against his cheek. “I’m glad you’re on my side.”

His smile stretched wide. In a swift motion he stood. Somehow, I ended up dipped as if in a dance. My head spun from the movement. He brought his lips next to my ear. “I would never be anywhere else.”