The Elementalist (27 page)

74

~Unanswered Questions~

Claire

Claire and her band of friends stood around the pool. The air whipped around them—the sky dark. Calliel and Brecken lay still under the water, their lips turning blue. It was freezing outside and Claire couldn’t imagine how cold they must be, submerged in the water. She wasn’t sure if she should continue to stand there staring at them or if they should yank them out and revive them.

“Mom?”

Angela glanced toward her with a worried look.

“How long do we leave them there?” she asked.

Shaking her head, Angela cleared her throat. “Um… I don’t think they’re coming back from this,” she answered, her eyes welling with tears.

“What?” Katelyn shrieked, her eyes wide and her mouth working in horror. “You can’t be serious!”

“We had a time limit last time,” Wade said. “There has to be one now.”

“No,” Angela said, letting go of Wade and Claire’s hands. “There’s nothing more we can do. It’s over. Look.” She pointed to the sky. The eclipse had ended; the blood-red sheen was almost completely gone. The sky was starting to turn pink over the hills, and any visible stars were winking away. “Whatever was going to happen has happened. One side has won.”

“But which one?” Jamie asked, still holding Claire’s hand. He didn’t look like he was about to let go.

“Time will tell,” Angela said. “Let’s go inside.”

***

The minutes, and then the hours, ticked by. Brecken’s skin had turned completely blue and his pulse had disappeared. Claire gazed down at his still form, knowing he was gone for good. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. How could he be dead? He’d been so alive one minute and now… he wasn’t.

Calliel’s skin had continued to pink up after they’d pulled him from the water. They’d left them submerged for twenty minutes, and now they waited. Calliel lay in Claire’s bed, the blankets up to his chin. He’d started to breathe visibly only moments before, his chest rising and falling with each inhalation.

“He’s coming to, I think,” Katelyn said, her face only inches away from the man’s. The next second, his bright blue eyes flashed open. He sat up in a rush, without any fatigue, startling Katelyn, who screamed and fell backward against the closet.

Calliel jumped from the bed and ran from the room. “Where is he?” he bellowed, taking the stairs two at a time. He ran through the kitchen and out through the back door. “Where is he?” he yelled again.

“He’s on the couch,” Angela answered quietly, drying her hands with a dish towel. “I don’t think he’s coming back.”

Calliel fell to his knees beside Brecken’s body, grabbing his son’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered between sobs of despair. “I’m so sorry.”

“What happened?” Claire asked, kneeling down beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t shrug her away. He’d always seemed so stiff and cold to her. Seeing this kind of emotion from him was upsetting and enlisted her own emotions to rise to the surface.

“We got separated. I don’t know what happened to him, but if he’s not awake by now, he’s not coming back. How will I ever tell his sisters?” He laid his head on the couch next to Brecken’s chest, his remorse appearing physically painful.

Claire couldn’t do anything but watch. They all stood around the weeping angel in silence until Angela stepped forward. “We should call an ambulance. You can say he died of complications from leaving the hospital too soon. It will work out.”

He turned to Angela, tears swimming in his eyes. Claire had a feeling he’d never cried before. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his wet face and running nose. “But my girls will hate me. They’ll think I had something to do with this.”

Angela nodded. “They may. It will be something you’ll have to work out with them.” Claire’s mother had always been straightforward and honest, but Claire felt sorry for Calliel. She thought her mom should be more compassionate, but she’d also seen how her mother felt about the angel the moment he’d walked in.

Claire walked over to him, hugging him quickly. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

The ambulance came and took Brecken’s body away. Calliel rode in the ambulance as well. Claire wondered if she would ever see him and his family again. Probably not, and that realization left her feeling even more empty. Her friends left, one by one, leaving her to reel at the outcome by herself. All this time, she’d thought they were doing something magnificent, something vital to help the cause, and yet, it had all ended like this.

Sure, the news had reported a lot of wild weather around the world, which reporters attributed to the crazy lunar eclipse, but Claire knew the truth. Something otherworldly had gone down, and she wasn’t even sure of who the winner was. Angela put her arm around her daughter and they watched the road, long after the ambulance had turned the corner.

Jamie took her hand, giving it a slight squeeze. He was the last friend to remain, but he didn’t have far to go. Just across the street. “I guess I should get home. See you later?”

She nodded, but she couldn’t seem to get the ache in her heart to disappear. Brecken was gone, and it was her fault. All of this happened because of her love of Elementalism… because she’d wanted to play with fire… literally. She bowed her head, trying to hold back the aching tears of guilt. Her choices had led them to this. Her mother would never have done any of this if Claire hadn’t first caused so much trouble.

Angela glanced at Claire and noticed her tears. “Oh, honey. This isn’t your fault. There are no accidents.” She wiped the tears away with her fingers, keeping her hands on either side of Claire’s face. “This happened for a reason. I have a feeling the right side won, and because of Brecken, many lives have probably been saved. I feel it deep inside.”

“Maybe,” she said, her eyes swimming with misery. “But Brecken would still be here if I hadn’t made this mess.”

Angela heaved a heavy sigh. “Maybe, but what’s done is done. We have to move on now and hope for the best.” She kissed Claire on the forehead and then headed back inside the house, leaving Claire to stare at the setting sun alone.

75

~Mother~

Alisa

Everything had gone quiet—the sounds of battle, the cries of the wounded—and I stood alone in a beautiful field of wild daisies. I walked through them, my fingertips dusting their velvety petals. The sky above was a perfect shade of blue, deep, yet with such warmth that my whole heart felt overjoyed at being there. I turned in a circle, surveying my surroundings with a feeling of peace I’d never had before and couldn’t describe if I’d tried.

“Alisa.”

Hearing my name, I looked back over my shoulder. A woman stood behind me in a flowing, white gown made of a material I’d never seen before. Nothing could describe how she looked to me. The word glorious came to mind, but even that didn’t do her justice. Her long, golden hair tumbled over her shoulders and glowed like gossamer. Her eyes were an indescribable shade of blue that radiated like fire. I couldn’t explain it other than to say her gaze penetrated deep inside me and felt like a salve to heal my wounds. There were no words to explain the burning in my heart.

More than anything, I wanted to run to her and be enveloped in her arms, which I did. With her hands pressed against my back, all I felt was love. Pure love. I couldn’t even form words to tell her how much I loved her and that I wanted to stay here with her.

She placed her hands on my arms and pushed me back just a bit, so she could gaze into my eyes.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“I’m your mother. I am everyone’s mother,” she said without moving her lips. Our thoughts mingled as though we were of one mind and one thought.

“I want to stay here,” I said to her in my mind.

“No,” she said. “It is not time for your rest.”

“But I’m so tired.”

“I know.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That is all right, Alisa, but I will tell you this… there are many lives for you to live, many realms to pass through. You are not meant to be in this one yet.”

“Like reincarnation?” I didn’t know why I felt the need to know, but I just couldn’t come back as a bug or some other animal if I failed.

She laughed, and it sounded like the tinkling of silver bells and fell like soft, summer rain in my mind. “No. Not like that. There are many levels to pass through on your road of progression. This is just one of them. You still have much to do where you are.”

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead. It felt like being wrapped in the softest, warmest blanket imaginable, and I begged her to let me stay. She wrapped me in her arms one more time, and my heart calmed completely. I knew instinctively that I had no need to worry about anything. Not my family, not my friends, and especially not Brecken. His future would be wonderful.

“We will meet again, Alisa. Until then… remember what I’ve shown you and try to remember
me
.” She smiled softly, and I wanted nothing more than to remain there forever, where I suddenly understood the past, the present, and the future.

The next moment, I opened my eyes to the cries of the injured, choking purple smoke, and a soul that ached as though I’d had a sword driven through me.

76

~Resurrected~

Alisa

Brecken leaned over me, my head in his lap. As soon as my eyes opened, he rushed to wrap his arms around me.

“Alisa! I can’t believe it!” He laughed and cried at the same time, hugging me until I protested. After a second, he pulled away with a frown and glanced at Raphael.

“What happened?” Brecken asked.

“I don’t know,” Raphael answered. “It wasn’t anything I did.”

A smile spread across my face. I put my arms around Brecken’s neck and pulled him close. “It’s all right, Brecken. Everything will be all right.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, leaning away to stare at me as though I were having some sort of psychotic episode.

“I saw it. I saw it all. Everything will be fine. I promise.”

Both Brecken and Raphael stared at me amidst the chaos. I took Raphael’s hand and then Brecken’s as I pulled myself to a sitting position, my spirit body completely healed. The hole through my belly had closed, and I no longer felt any pain from Bas Iblis’ sword. I looked into Brecken’s deep blue eyes, so beautiful, so strong, and so conflicted.

“We don’t have to worry. We’ll be together… in the end.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

I tried to think of how to describe the experience I’d just had, but there were no words, and I had a feeling that the experience was, for now, only for me, and that I could only share the barest of details. “It… I…”

He held me close, not letting me finish, which was good because there was nothing I could think of to say.

Raphael looked on, an expression of understanding beginning to dawn. “You saw her, didn’t you?”

I winked at him, and my own smile grew wide. Brecken seemed oblivious and after a moment, he released me and stood. “I have to find Bas Iblis. He can’t get away.”

“He didn’t,” Raphael said, his eyes suddenly tired. He lay down beside me and let his weapon fall from his fingers.

“You mean… he’s dead?” Brecken asked.

Raphael scrunched his eyes shut as though he were in pain and turned his face away. “No. He’s not dead. Not yet.”

I watched Raphael’s expression, and then I studied Brecken’s. How could I explain that not even Bas Iblis mattered in the grand scheme of things? He wouldn’t win, no matter what schemes the demons came up with. Instead of trying to clarify, I took Brecken’s hand in mine and slowly kissed each finger.

“It’s over,” I said. “We won.”

The demons weren’t gone or destroyed, but they
were
pushed back, locked back in their unseen world for now.

Brecken gazed into my eyes, and it didn’t matter that we weren’t alone. Our side had won, and my heart burst with happiness… for the future, for my family and friends, but most all… for my Great Undoer.

Acknowledgements

It takes a village to get a story from the author’s brain to the public as a completed book, all printed, nice and pretty. I have many people to thank for helping me get this particular book to the store’s shelves, because it was much harder to complete than some might realize.

I was very sick as I wrote The Elementalist. It was tough stuff to pull the story from my imagination as it seemed my brain had taken a hiatus! It took over a year to complete, but I am very happy with how everything turned out—from the beautiful cover, which was all Marya Heiman and her amazing talent—to Cynthia Shepp who kindly, but bluntly edited the story.

A huge thanks goes to Courtney Nuckels, Rebecca Gober, and Dyan Brown for doing all the behind the scenes work, organizing, promoting, and gently encouraging me to get to work! They are amazing, and geniuses where publishing is concerned. I cannot even express how much I love these women, who are more like family than business partners.

A special thanks to my family, who was more than supportive, even when I was a crazy, ailing lady, trying to work. They picked up the slack in every way, and I love and adore them more than they can ever know!

Thank you to all my friends and critiquers who labored over this manuscript, who pointed out plot holes and discrepancies, who helped steer this story in the right direction. Your input was invaluable.

And most of all… thank you to my fans and readers! You made this possible too! You are what kept me going when I thought I couldn’t do it, when my body wouldn’t cooperate! Thank you for your encouragement, for your pleadings for a sequel! You are the ones who made this happen. Thank you, thank you, thank you!