Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1)

by Jayelle Morgan

  As they roughly pushed her through the window into other waiting hands, she saw Micah, swarmed on all sides, unable to get to her. She started to fight again.

  A knock to the head made her still, and they carried her away from Micah, away from the house. Away from rescue.

  As they did, she saw the little corpses of purple pansies in the mud on their boots.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Levi stumbled as he re-entered the Mortal plane, leaning against the rocks until he could learn how to breathe with human lungs again.

  He would never get used to how heavy, how constrictive a mortal body felt. His arms and legs felt like weights, each breath felt like he had to force it into his lungs. He could feel his heart beating, twitching in his chest. The sensations of sunlight on his skin, breeze in his hair, were not… uncomfortable, just foreign. Over-stimulating. But he’d done this enough times to know that the strangeness wouldn't last too long. He’d just rest here a minute until he could pull himself across the rocks to his clothes.

  Behind him the portal closed with an inaudible pop. He felt it with his soul, the link between him and the Elemental world slamming shut. Not completely, not permanently, but enough that it made his heart pound with the feeling of isolation. It was easy to forget that this wasn’t his homeworld until moments like this, when he felt like a living ember in a world where the Elements had no life, no consciousness. Except within the human form.

  That feeling would pass too, in a few minutes. It helped that the other soldiers were waiting for him. Brooke was waiting for him.

  Levi raised a leaden arm to wipe away the sweat that dripped into his eyes from the exertion of being in his mortal form again. Yeah, she would be waiting for him, but probably not with open arms.

  “Shit,” he groaned, his voice sounding and feeling unfamiliar. Though only a few days had passed in his own world, here he’d been gone twice as long. And for all the times he’d traveled back and forth, and as odd as it was to be back in this form, nothing had ever made him feel as much like an alien as Brooke’s one look had.

  Maybe if he explained to her better… They weren’t so different, the two of them. Rather than separate races, she was more like a distant offspring of his race. Odd to think about maybe, but true all the same. The Elements had just taken different form in this world, combining and separating and re-combining to create every single thing in it, living and non-living, rather than a single life form like his.

  He wasn’t so different from a human soldier. Fighting for order, fighting for peace. Fighting to keep the world from being destroyed in chaos. Fighting to protect a balance to the universe that most people never looked deeply enough to see.

  Levi swallowed hard.

  Brooke seemed like she wasn’t so different from those people, refusing to look much past the surface, his surface. To see that it wasn’t the differences that mattered, but the similarities. To see that he already cared about her way more than he should, way more than was smart. But he didn’t want to feel less for her. The thought of her was both a pleasure, and a pain that went way beyond just protection and attraction.

  He’d make her see. A soul was a soul whether it was wrapped in a higher form or a lower one. An Elemental one, or a Mortal one. And for some reason, his soul couldn’t forget about her no matter what form it was in.

  His eardrums vibrating made him cover his ears for a second, until he realized his phone was ringing. Already.

  He answered as he rushed to pull on his pants, clumsy on unsteady legs. "Hey Walker, the Premiers said—"

  "Don't worry about that at the moment. You need to get to Brooke's. Now." He didn't ask why, he just hung up and started pulling on clothes as fast as he could. He’d heard why— they were under attack.

  Brooke was in danger.

  And so were the other soldiers. He'd left, and the Chaolt had attacked.

  With a sickening twist to his stomach as he ran for his car, he realized that's what they had been waiting for. He was the greatest threat to them, because they couldn't null out his powers. They’d been circling, stalling. Waiting, for him to leave her unprotected. Because despite the physical advantages their origins gave them, they were only slightly better than mortals with their powers canceled out. All they had to do was swarm the other soldiers, and they’d get what they wanted.

  They hadn't kept the Chaolt away; they'd given them time to organize, to plan. To call reinforcements. Levi hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand, every expletive he could think of pouring out in a stream of frustration. Why hadn't he seen that before?

  He felt his power rising and took several calming breaths. He couldn't afford to lose it right now. He had to get to his brothers. And his woman.

  The drive passed in a haze of worry. When he got to Brooke's street, reality returned with a piercing reminder.

  Metal in a blender.

  There were so many Chaolt on her street, that the buzzing in his head amplified until it ground around in his brain like metal in a blender.

  Her unconscious form was being dragged into a van between two Chaolt, and every other soldier was fighting against a tide of the enemy, trying to get to her. He shot out of the car and ran straight for her, his blades already out, flashing. Blood sprayed but he barely noticed it. The smell of burning plastic filled the air as he waded through the enemy, and he breathed in deep. That smell meant he was winning, he was going to get to Brooke.

  And then the van drove away. No…

  No, no ,no.

  He hacked away, arms swinging out with deadly aim. He had to follow that van. They had Brooke, and they were all going to fucking pay.

  Carnage. He wanted carnage. He was going to burn them all.

  From a distance he noticed his vision go to orange. The other soldiers calling to him. The burning smell increasing, the screams starting. And stopping.

  "Damn it, Levi, get a hold of yourself!"

  A heavy body landed on him, forcing him to the ground and pushing all the air out of his lungs. A sound of pure rage filled his throat, and he stood quickly, throwing the weight off. Ajax, ripping off his burning shirt, ran back to the others.

  "Who was watching her!" he yelled. "Who was supposed to protect her!"

  Levi's burning gaze swung from soldier to soldier until he landed on his commander. He was a better soldier in every way. Physically larger, stronger Elemental powers and superior intellect. That’s why he’d been chosen to lead the team.

  But his Fire didn’t care about any of that.

  "You," he growled, glaring at Walker. Flames pinched at his skin and he quit trying to hold them back, flaring them higher. "This was your fucking idea! They're going to kill her because of you!"

  Worse than kill her, they were going to rip apart her mind. And in the process, kill as many other people as they could. The thought filled him with deep despair, and his Fire responded by flaring, engulfing him to the shoulders as he strode toward Walker.

  "Ajax," Walker breathed, "Take him out."

  See, everyone thought Water would defeat Fire. But they were pretty evenly matched, the powers canceling each other out in a cloud of steam. Air was much more effective against Fire. Take away the oxygen and the fire can’t burn.

  The edges of his vision began to darken, his chest tightening. He turned to Ajax, whose eyes had taken on a tell-tale, teal glow. "No. Fuck you! No!"

  He charged toward Ajax, but stumbled before he could reach him, falling to one knee.

  That heavy feeling was back, like the one coming through the portal caused. His arms and legs, they were slow to move, cumbersome. When he turned his head in the direction of the van, his vision seemed delayed. Swimmy. He fought it, but his head seemed to be anchored down and he rested it on his arm, suddenly too tired to lift it.

  The ground under him shook. Whether Micah was healing his wounds using his powers, or summoning the earth to crush him, he wasn’t sure. Was too empty of air to care.

  Walker knelt in the
middle of his wavering vision. "I'm sorry, Levi. This is not how this was supposed to turn out. She should have been safe, but there were too many. They drew Micah away and grabbed her before he could get back."

  He didn’t blame Micah. He should have known better than to get too far away from her. And Walker… It had been his idea. But they would all have to share some blame, and him the most. He himself had walked Brooke into the whole situation from the start. He should have been there. He had promised she would be safe. Instead he'd lost his temper, lost control… and lost her.

  "We'll get her back. We'll find her." A hand squeezed his shoulder, and Walker turned back to Ajax. "Ease up, or you'll kill him."

  "He almost fucking killed us, sir."

  "Ajax!"

  Levi heard the warning tone in Walker’s voice, and the air started trickling back in. He gulped it, but the heaviness in his chest didn't ease.

  And there was a spot in there, in his chest, heavier than the rest. So heavy, it hurt. He couldn't breathe around it, and he pressed his face into the gravel, groaning.

  Brooke.

  That blackest, heaviest part of him seem to spread out, to suck him in, and when it reached his head his eyes began to sting.

  He'd let her down. And now she was going to die.

  He curled his hands, his fingertips scraping against the rough gravel.

  Until a hand took one of his in a strong grip, and another hand grabbed the other. He was pulled up from the ground and supported as he stood on shaky legs, head down. His massive power leak had drained him, and with the heaviness inside him, he could barely raise his head.

  But when he did, it was to meet his commander's eyes.

  "We’re going to go get Brooke," he said.

  Levi looked from that familiar pair of blue eyes to a pair of teal ones.

  "I've got your back, Levi. Even if I don't particularly like you. Let's go get her back."

  Behind them stood Micah, arms crossed and face solemn.

  "Erratic or not, we wouldn’t leave her to them,” he rumbled. “We’re here to protect humans, and she’s a special one. And plainly, she cares for you as well. It’s our duty, and our privilege, to save her from those bastard Chaolt."

  Levi blinked at Micah. That had to be the most words he'd ever said at one time.

  And Micah had an accent.

  Ajax snickered first, then Walker. Even Levi felt a reluctant laugh wheeze out past the weight in his chest, but he sobered quickly. They were going after her. But what if they didn’t make it in time?

  Water. She was drowning. They all were.

  She was stuck under the water, gasping, struggling to find the surface, to find up. To find air. Now instead of burning, she was drowning.

  All manner of unrecognizable things tumbled by her in the swoosh of brown water. And things she could recognize, caught among the debris. Trees, furniture, parts of houses.

  People.

  Some were struggling against the current, trying to find the surface. Some were still.

  The sound of the water was so loud in her ears as it rushed by, but she still heard the screams of those nearest to her. She struggled, trying to reach someone, anyone, as they went by, but she couldn't move from her place. Like a stone, she stood still in the middle of all the chaos as it parted around her.

  The water kept coming; it never slowed down or eased up. All too quickly, the only thing she could hear was the rushing of the dark water. The loudest silence she'd ever heard.

  Everyone was dead.

  She sobbed, choking on the water, on the death. Drowning, but not dying. She did this. Somehow, she was responsible. She'd killed all these people.

  With a cry, she folded over on herself, a hand sinking into the silty bottom.

  No. God, no.

  She was sorry, she wanted to take it all back. If only she could take it all back.

  Brooke woke up sobbing in the cold room with water dripping from the walls. The restraints chafed her wrists as she tried to curl up into a ball, the relentless sadness and regret crushing her.

  All those people. Drowned.

  It didn't matter that it was just a dream. It had been so real. She could still feel the water on her face. Cold, unlike her tears. The despair… It had been real.

  The metal door grated open and Charlie walked in. She recoiled from his touch as he reached out a hand, his presence a gut-churning experience now.

  Who knows what he was doing to her when she was out. Another sob leaked out through her unwilling lips. She wanted to be strong, fierce. But his presence only meant one thing.

  It was time to dream again.

  "Please. Please let me go." He said nothing as he prepared the syringe. "Why are you doing this?"

  He tapped out the bubbles and gave it a little squirt, but still didn't answer.

  She yanked against her restraints this time, blessed anger chasing away the despair that threatened to drown her as surely as the cold, dark water had the people in her dream. "What is the fucking point of this! Why are you keeping me asleep? What do you want?"

  Brooke drooped as soon as he stuck the needle in her vein. Fighting did no good at this stage. Whatever he gave her was so fast acting that her body already felt heavy, her head lighter than air.

  He stood and stared at her as the drug began its prickly journey through her veins.

  "What do you want from me," she whispered, wanting to yell again but without the strength to push the words out at full volume.

  "For now I just want you to dream, and let me in. You're much stronger now. But when you're ready, I'm going to come and set your power free."

  The door closed and a tear rolled down her cheek. She fought the heavy weight of her eyelids, afraid to let them fall.

  He wanted her to dream.

  … Let me in.

  He was going to set her power free.

  You're water, Levi had said.

  Her eyes closed, and she was unable to open them again. She cried out with all her strength as the sucking black took her back to that watery mass grave.

  It wasn't a dream she was seeing. It wasn't a nightmare. It was her fate.

  Somehow she was going to kill… everyone.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Levi buckled up with shaking hands. When he looked up, he met three pairs of eyes. Walker threw him a handful of energy bars as Ajax turned away and started the engine. Micah started pulling out bags of weapons and tactical gear from the back.

  Shitty as his control was, they were still going to fight by him. Shitty as his temper was, they were still going to help him get Brooke back. Why?

  He gratefully tore into the first bar as he thought about it. He always figured he didn’t get along with the other soldiers because he was the weakest link. Was that really the case, or was that just what he expected because that’s what he felt about himself? Ajax was an asshole to everyone except Walker, so maybe he didn’t hate him personally. And Walker… Maybe Walker was just as frustrated as he was with his lack of control. Micah? Hard to tell since he didn’t talk much. But he rarely talked to anybody in sentences beyond three words.

  All he knew was that for the first time, he felt like he was part of the team. Maybe being the weakest link didn’t matter too much when you had three strong ones supporting you. Maybe they would get her back.

  He squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to think of the alternative or to feed the blackness trying to steal his breath.

  In, out, bite, chew. He concentrated on those immediate tasks until his breaths came easier.

  And as soon as he enough calories in him, Levi knew he needed to tell Walker what he knew. Though right now all he wanted to focus on was Brooke, he had a bigger job. They all did.

  And this was really fucking big.

  "Walker. The news from Elementium… It isn't good."

  Walker turned to him from the front seat, expression blank.

  "Well, it doesn't seem like going back really did much for your control. So we k
now going forward that won't help. What else?

  Levi swallowed and looked away, face hot. No, it hadn't seemed to help. He'd lost control—again—of his temper and his powers, as soon as he got back. And almost burned his fellow warriors along with the Chaolt.

  Clearing his throat, he said, "There's a big portal like ours out in the desert somewhere. The problem is, there's a big festival there every year. Part of that crowd has to be Erratics attracted to the portal, probably a significant portion of them. The Premiers want us to go make sure there aren't any Chaolt trying to target them while they're there. We’re the only team close enough to make it in time."

  "And when is this festival?"

  "In two days."

  Walker swore, and Levi nodded. Exactly.

  They needed to find Brooke and rescue her, like now, because then they had to drive half way across the state to stop a new disaster.

  Flying would be faster, but they couldn't bring weapons. And they were going to need them, because like ants at a picnic, Chaolt never missed an opportunity to feed.

  But right now, all Levi could think about was Brooke. Where was she? Quieter, he asked, "Can you still sense her?"

  Walker gave a curt nod. "We're going the right way." Then Walker cleared his throat. Touched his ear. Sighed.

  "What is it, Walker?" Levi asked. These new signals of his were convenient. And worrisome.

  Walker cursed again. "You should know that she has gotten stronger in the last couple of weeks." He turned to look directly at Levi, but addressed everyone in the questioning silence that followed. "I don't know how, and I don't know why, but there it is. That's how I can track her so far. She's way ahead of us, but I can still sense her."

  The sucking black in his chest was back, pulling him in bit by bit. They were going to hurt or kill a lot of people. They were going to kill her. How would they do it? He’d seen the Chaolt use Water Erratics for everything from a broken pipe, to a flood, to a tidal wave. Anything to cause the most destruction, the most chaos depending on the strength of the Erratic. And from what Walker was saying, Brooke had grown pretty damn strong. "They're going to take her somewhere she can do a lot of damage." Levi scrubbed a hand over his face. Damn it.