by Quinn Loftis
Tara’s brow drew down. “I’m your first friend? Are you new here, too?”
“Naw,” Shelly said, shaking her head. “Born and bred in good ol’ Buffalo. I just get on people’s nerves as a general rule. I might have had some friends a year or so ago. But a wave of hormones seems to have taken over the town’s entire female population last summer before the start of seventh grade. Those friendships blew up in an explosion fueled by PMS and estrogen.”
“What makes you think I want to be your friend?”
“One…” Shelly held up a hand and ticked off a finger. “You’re new in town, which means you don’t have any friends. Two, you’re brooding and angry, which is the perfect complement to my gregarious, fun-loving self.”
Tara waited for more, but Shelly didn’t go on. She simply rocked back and forth with a small smile on her face as if she were quite pleased with herself.
“That’s all you got?” Tara asked. “The fact that you think I’m desperate for a friend because I’m new and because you’re so annoying you need someone un-annoying to temper your own personality?”
“Pretty much, but I’m winging it. You caught me quite unprepared to make a new friend. Give me another hour to think about it, and I could have an entire debate prepared on the subject of why we are destined to be BFFs, complete with a bullet-point presentation.”
Tara thought her words would anger Shelly, or at least hurt her feelings. But they appeared to roll right off the girl’s back, as if she were impervious to insults.
“Maybe you’re just so desperate for a friend you don’t mind befriending an angry, orphaned girl who actually doesn’t need a friend.” Tara pursed her lips and waited. She looked Shelly straight in the eyes. The other girl seemed to be seriously weighing Tara’s cruel words, but she still didn’t seem put off.
“I see where you’re going with this”—Shelly nodded—“but I don’t do desperate. It’s not my style. Bitchy, overzealous, too-curious-for-my-own-good, those are definitely me. But desperate, no. I also know you’re just trying to push me away with mean words. It won’t work. Once I decide I want someone to be my friend, then it’s going to happen. You should just accept the situation. It will make your life easier.”
“If that’s so, then why haven’t you made any replacement friends for the ones you lost?” Tara challenged.
Shelly gave her a “duh” look. “Because I don’t want to be friends with any of the ruthless, abhorrent, demonic, soul-sucking bitches. I’d rather be friendless than have girls who’d just as soon backstab me as they would look at me. They aren’t even loyal to each other. I don’t need that.”
Tara didn’t know what to say. The truth was, she didn’t want a friend. She didn’t want anyone. She just wanted to crawl into a corner and die.
“Did you move here after your parents passed because you have family here?” Shelly asked.
Tara shook her head.
“So who do you live with?”
“Some lady. It’s a foster home.”
“Oh, wait”—Shelly held out a hand—“don’t tell me. I bet I can guess. You’re living with Carol Peters, aren’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
Shelly grinned. “Mrs. Carol is the kindest person in this bison turd bowl. She’d give a person in need the shirt off her back and her last dollar if it meant getting them back on their feet. She’s had other foster kids. Some deserved her kindness, some, well, they deserved a good kick in the nuts or vagina, depending on their own personal chromosome. But it doesn’t matter to Mrs. Carol if they’re deserving or not. She loves them all and gives everything she has.” Shelly narrowed her eyes on Tara. “What kind are you going to be? Deserving of her kindness? Or are your girl parts going to need an ice pack?”
“Anyone ever told you that you’re pushy and intrusive?”
“Only every day of my life since I came out squawking like a banshee at the doctor who had his head in my mother’s business,” Shelly said without an ounce of shame. “Life’s too short to cater to other people’s sensitivities. If I worried about offending people, then I’d never get to say a word. My head would probably pop right off my shoulders from all the pressure building up with the need to speak.”
“Look,” Tara started as she stood up from the swing, “I’m sure you mean well—”
“I don’t,” Shelly interrupted. “I’m serving my own selfish purposes, but please, do go on.”
“I don’t need a friend, and I don’t want a friend. I just want to survive the hell my life has become, and I want to do it alone.” Tara started to walk away but only made it a few feet before Shelly spoke.
“I’ll see ya tomorrow, BFF. Mrs. Carol makes a mean Sunday casserole, and I’ve only missed it once when I had the flu. And that was only because my mom said it wouldn’t be nice to give Mrs. Carol the flu when what I was getting in return was a nice, warm casserole.”
“Fantastic,” Tara muttered under her breath as she headed back the way she’d come. As she walked back to Carol’s house, she realized one good thing had come from meeting Shelly in the park. She’d been distracted, at least for a little while. Shelly talked so much and so fast it was difficult for Tara to even think about her own pain. Maybe she didn’t want a friend, but it might be that she needed one—especially one as annoying as Shelly—in order to survive her grief.
But she wouldn’t admit that just yet. Tara would wait and see how the day went tomorrow. If Shelly was able to distract her again then perhaps she’d allow the girl to stick around. If not, well, she’d just have to become one of those ruthless bitches Shelly hated so much. Then she wouldn’t be so determined to be Tara’s friend.
Jax sat in a rental car, staring across the road at the park, watching Tara as she sat on a swing, her head downcast. He tensed and narrowed his eyes as a skinny girl approached and took the swing next to her. He focused his inner eye for a few moments—listening, sensing the elemental world around him. Nothing. The skinny girl was completely human.
A new friend. It was exactly what Tara needed. Jax said a silent prayer to Mother Gaia, asking her to ensure this new girl would stay a true friend to his charge. It had been tough on Jax these past two months, watching the girl under his protection have to struggle through the first few weeks without her parents. Without anyone. It had been much tougher on Tara. So many times Jax had wanted to reach out, to talk with her, to offer her whatever comfort he could. But a giant man appearing out of nowhere usually didn’t offer much in the way of comfort. And what would he say anyway? “Hello, Tara. Sorry your parents are dead. But it’ll get better. Guess what? I know who killed your parents. A dark elemental. That’s right. There’s an entire hidden world out there controlled by light and dark elementals. And you are going to be a part of it one day.” Probably wouldn’t go over too well. Jax scanned the area one more time, just to be sure the two girls weren’t being watched by anyone else. When he was satisfied Tara was safe, or at least as safe as she possibly could be under the circumstances, he started the car and drove back to the woods.
Chapter 2
One year after the accident.
“Was that Carol? Did you ask her? What’d she say?” Shelly said as she walked into Tara’s house—well, Carol’s house—as if she lived there herself.
“Why, yes, Shelly. You may come in. Thank you. Would you like some cucumber sandwiches and tea?” Tara asked in her best British accent.
“Oh, come on, you heifer. You wouldn’t eat cucumber sandwiches if they were the last food on earth. They aren’t a pissy food. You only eat pissy food. What the bloody hell did she say?” Shelly bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as if she were four instead of fourteen.
“What is pissy food, exactly, and why do you keep coming over?” Tara replied, ignoring the question.
“Because I’m a glutton for punishment,” Shelly said. “What’d she say, bitch?”
“Have you ever thought that maybe your parents dropped you on your head when you were a baby and that�
�s why you’re so freaking neurotic?”
“There’s no maybe about it. They did drop me on my head when I was like a month old or something. That’s old news. What isn’t old news is the answer that Carol just gave you when you asked her if you could go camping with my family this weekend, because if I have to suffer the wilderness then you better believe you are going to suffer right along with me.”
Tara had tried for the past year to get Shelly to go away. She’d been mean. She’d attempted to do the whole clingy friend thing, but that had just gotten weird because two clingy friends… Well, it’s just weird. She’d threatened Shelly with bodily harm and had even pushed the girl off the trampoline, causing Shelly to break her arm. Actually, that had been an accident, but she’d totally tried to make Shelly think it had been her plan all along. Still, Shelly was undeterred. The girl was like a bad rash.
“Yes!” Tara growled. “I can go.” She squeezed her eyes shut against the high-pitched squeal she knew was coming. Shelly didn’t disappoint.
Jax watched Tara walk away from the Smith family campsite. The girl—Shelly—was still hanging about, forcing Tara to be her friend. For this, Jax was grateful. Though Tara didn’t seem to recognize it, Shelly’s friendship was one of the few things keeping her going. Jax could plainly see it. Watching from a distance, he noticed the subtle things that bespoke of healing. Occasionally, Tara didn’t keep her eyes directed at the floor. Sometimes, her shoulders weren’t quite as tense. Every so often, she didn’t snap at Carol. These things were steps toward gaining her life back—small steps, but steps nonetheless.
And Shelly’s family seemed kind, which was another bonus. They’d almost adopted Tara as their own, going out of their way to include her in family outings. Tara thought it was only out of pity, but it wasn’t. The girl both resented and longed for these acts of kindness from Shelly and her family.
The love from the Smith family provided a practical benefit beyond merely making Tara feel better. They offered protection, though none of them even knew it. The phrase “protection from the elements” wasn’t merely a saying that described the shelter offered by the walls and roof of a house. No, there was an unseen, spiritual protection provided as well. A dark elemental generally couldn’t enter a home where a family had been living for any significant period of time. Jax didn’t fully understand it. He wasn’t sure anyone did, even the elemental kings and queens. Well … they probably did, since they understood the world at its elemental level. But certainly, no humans comprehended the mystery surrounding the protection offered by a home. Jax was certain about one thing, though. The more love in the home, the more hugs given, the more boo boos kissed, the more birthdays celebrated, the more prayers said before bedtime, the greater the protection. The Smith family’s house had that in spades, and so did Tara’s foster home.
Jax couldn’t watch over Tara every minute. He had his teaching job at the academy that kept him busy … oh, and there was the whole “hunting down and executing dark elementals” thing. Though he hated it, during those times when he couldn’t be in Buffalo watching over Tara, he simply had to trust in the protection spell he cast over her and the shelter offered by Carol and Shelly’s family.
“I’m going to go grab some sticks for the campfire,” Tara said as she emerged from the tent she would share with Shelly that night. Her friend was right behind her.
“Ugh,” said Shelly. “That’s going to be great for my skin, tromping through the wilderness collecting sticks.”
“Stay here,” said Tara. “I’ve got it.”
“No, no, I can’t let you wander off into the forest alone. You might get eaten by a velociraptor or something.”
“You do realize that Jurassic Park wasn’t based on true events, right?”
“Maybe, maybe not. You don’t know,” Shelly replied. “Who’s to say there isn’t some island out there in the middle of the ocean covered with dinosaurs running amuck? They might have evolved naturally, no crazy old scientist dude necessary. Nature finds a way, Tara. I’m coming with, just to be safe.”
“Please … stay. I need to take a walk.” Tara could see Shelly saw the look in her eyes. Tara knew Shelly had come to recognize it. And she knew her friend wouldn’t object. Shelly was persistent, annoying, irritatingly loyal, and apparently paranoid about dinosaurs. Sometimes it looked like Shelly had no boundaries. But she did. The girl knew how far to push. But when Tara got to the point where she needed time alone, Shelly had learned to back off. Tara appreciated it, but it almost made the girl even more annoying. Stop being such a good friend! Tara sometimes wanted to scream.
Shelly nodded. “Okay, okay, risk getting eaten by a dinosaur. Don’t think I’m going to come running if you scream. I’ll just stay right here in my cozy little tent with my phone and my marshmallows.”
“Your phone doesn’t even get service here.”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “Regardless. I’ve already got a dozen books downloaded. I’ll be fine without you.” She ducked back into the tent and zipped it up with a flourish.
“Try not to read anything scary. I’m not spooning with you again,” Tara said, turning and walking away. “Going to gather some kindling,” she told Mr. Smith, who was putting up the tent he and Mrs. Smith would sleep in.
“Thanks, Tara. Don’t wander too far, okay?”
“No problem.”
Tara found a nearby trail leading into the woods. She followed it, absentmindedly picking up little sticks as she went. Almost without thinking, she began to hum, like she used to do as a small child … and something she hadn’t done since her parents’ death. A couple of squirrels chittered at her as she passed.
The wind picked up. Branches swayed and sighed overhead. Leaves fell from the trees and swirled about her. All of a sudden, Tara sensed something in the air around her. She couldn’t see it, but somehow she knew she was being watched. Tara froze, waiting to see if her watcher would be revealed. Nothing happened for several moments, then the ground began to shake.
Jax felt the elemental before he saw it. He spat on the ground. “Wind.” What the hell are they doing here? He stilled and scanned the horizon. He was certain the thing wouldn’t be able to see him, concealed as he was in the dense foliage along the trail. He opened himself up to the elements as much as he could. It wasn’t long before he saw the thing come into view, slipping out of the aether almost directly overhead. A sylph.
Dammit. Why did it have to be a sylph? Jax hated the sylph more than any other elemental creature. Not because they were among the nastiest of all the dark elementals—they were—but because they were hardest to kill. Sylphs appeared as miniature female humans, but they moved so fast the human eye could hardly track them. Jax would much prefer the test of strength provided by an earth golem any day than the continual sprinting and chasing it took to take down a wind elemental. Luckily, he had a secret weapon. How do you catch a butterfly? With a net.
Jax kept his eyes fixed on the sylph as he slowly moved his hand to the pouch on his belt. He could see the thing’s tiny wings beating, merely a shimmer on the wind from where he crouched. With the beast came the wind. It swirled about the creature, completely beholden to its will. The branches in the trees swayed. Jax could see the sylph search the ground, its beady red eyes narrowed. Even from where Jax watched from the foliage, he could make out the pointed teeth in the tiny sylph’s mouth. This one had long blonde hair that swirled about its head on the wind. In Jax’s opinion, the blonde ones were always the nastiest.
Could it be a complete coincidence this wind elemental showed up at the exact time Tara was camping with Shelly’s family? Sure. About the same chance as a pig not only flying but piloting a rocket into space, all the while listening to Norwegian death metal and flossing its teeth at the same time. Jax’s hand reached the weapon in his pouch about the same time Tara appeared around a bend in the trail. The sylph hissed, which Jax knew would sound only like the wind moaning through the trees to Tara. The thing flew down close, hove
ring a foot above and ahead of her. Jax watched as Tara paused, scanning the trees. She couldn’t see the elemental, but she hesitated, and Jax could tell she sensed something was there. Tara carried a bundle of sticks in her arms. She didn’t appear afraid, only curious.
Jax exhaled, weighing his options. He couldn’t reveal himself to Tara. But he couldn’t allow the sylph to harm her, either. The man had to do something fast. Jax let go of the net and grabbed a pair of yellow ear plugs from one of his pockets and quickly shoved them into his ears. Then he placed his palms against the ground and began chanting. Dammit. Where is Zuri when I need her? She’s so much better at this type of magic. Jax threw all of his power into the ground, causing it to vibrate. The quake didn’t exactly register a 6.0 on the Richter scale, but it was more than a tremor. Tara started and gasped, dropping her bundle when she felt the ground beneath her feet shake. She turned and sprinted back toward the campsite, her hands reaching out to the trees around her for support as her feet became unsteady on the shaking ground.
The sylph shrieked, incensed as its quarry bolted. It made a motion toward the girl as if to follow, but then it turned toward Jax, its red eyes ablaze. He had to cover his ears with his hands to block out the sound coming from the tiny monster. Generally, wind elementals didn’t have many weapons that would hurt him. Sure, enough wind could lift his giant frame. But sylph were rarely that strong. Some of the giant cloud monsters were capable, but not the sylph. Instead, they used something even more terrifying. Their voices. The sylph could alter the atmosphere to create extremely high-powered, high-frequency soundwaves capable of incapacitating humans and other elementals alike. The sylph were living sonic weapons.
There was no sense hiding. The thing had already seen him. It swooped toward Jax, screaming as it came. Now, he got a great look at the tiny monster’s razor-like little teeth. They were beautiful—the sylph—until they weren’t. The creature’s mouth was wide open as it bellowed.
