Volcan's Fire (Guardians of The Elements #1)

by Cathy McAllister

  Coreena’s heart beat accelerated. If only he knew that she had already called out his name when she brought herself to a climax. Just the memory of that made her blush. Fortunately he could not see that.

  “And? Are you going to come to lunch with me now?” he asked, laughing quietly.

  “Yes,” was all she could manage in response.

  Chapter 6

  Volcan got Ateo to land in a small clearing. He swung down from the noble animal’s back and lay down in the lush grass. He had not been home for a long time. After all, he had a mission to fulfil. He had to win over his queen. But the whole thing was a lot harder than he had expected it to be – not only the fact that she was hard to win over – what caused him even more trouble was the unfulfilled passion. It was draining him of his powers. Like all guardians he had a huge sex drive, but what he felt for Coreena exceeded all his expectations. He was crazy about her. Just her presence, or even just the thought of her, made him hard, and as soon as he touched her he was lost. His penis then threatened to burst through his trousers. If this carried on he would be walking around with a permanent erection.

  He felt the presence of an elf. It was Merlon, a good friend, with whom he’d often done the rounds in the human world. Elves were also potent and most often sought pleasure amongst human women. Merlon was not any old elf – he was the heir to the throne of Amarantus, the world of the elves.

  “You’re back?” he heard his friend ask.

  Volcan opened his eyes and looked at the elf. He was big and in superb condition. Yet he was not quite as well-built as Volcan. He had more of a slim and yet muscular body. His blue-black hair hung straight, down to his chest. His turquoise-coloured eyes sparkled. The elves’ pupils were always golden, unlike the black pupils of humans and guardians. That gave their eyes a hypnotic effect.

  “Just very briefly,” answered Volcan, and he sat up. “I’m not staying long.”

  Merlon sat down next to him on the grass.

  “Homesick?” the elf gently poked fun at him.

  “I needed a bit of peace and serenity,” said Volcan.

  The elf raised an eyebrow.

  “They’re completely new words, coming from you. What’s wrong with you? I thought you were courting right now.”

  “That’s just it!” sighed Volcan.

  “What’s the problem? Isn’t she pretty?”

  “She is pretty – much too pretty. I can’t keep my hands off her.”

  “So I don’t understand your problem.”

  “She’s keeping me waiting,” moaned Volcan.

  The elf threw his head back and laughed loudly. He could not control himself and Volcan looked at him blackly. Merlon was his friend, but that did not mean that he could laugh at him with impunity. Volcan gave a warning snarl.

  “She’s giving you the cold shoulder – to Volcan, the hottest lover of all times?” Merlon snorted with laughter. “That’s priceless!”

  “It’s not that she doesn’t want to,” Volcan tried to rescue his honour. “She’s just afraid because she’s already been hurt. She doesn’t trust any man an inch, and she’s blocking everything.”

  “If she wants you why don’t you just take her? After that she’ll be so addicted to you that she’ll eat out of your hand,” suggested Merlon.

  “No! That would be wrong. I want her to come to me of her own free will. I’ll give her the time she needs – but it’s not exactly a piece of cake. That’s why I’ve come here, to regenerate – and definitely not so that you can make fun of me!”

  “I understand. Unfulfilled passion can be painful. It’s hard walking around with a big cock the whole time, isn’t it?” The elf chuckled.

  Volcan considered breaking his friend’s honourable nose, but he chose to ignore the digs. Instead, he moved away from this uncomfortable topic of conversation.

  “And how are you? We’ve not met up for a while – how long has it been now?”

  “Seven months, my friend,” said Merlon and he put his head back, his eyes closed. “I’m feeling pretty much the same as you are. I have a girl.”

  “Tell me about her!” Volcan urged him.

  “She’s a human woman. I saw her one evening in a club. She works there. Since then I can’t get her out of my head. She has completely bewitched me.”

  “And what’s the problem?”

  “She’s with someone – a nasty man. The club belongs to him. I think he beats her.”

  “I understand!” said Volcan. “What’s bothering you is the law.”

  The law decreed that neither guardians, nor elves, nor dwarves were allowed to use lethal force in the human world, unless it was absolutely necessary in self-defence. However, defending a human life did not count as self-defence. The only exception was the protection of a guardian’s chosen one.

  Merlon nodded.

  “And what’s more I have no idea how Cherry would react if I were to speak to her. Up to now I haven’t gone near her. I didn’t want to cause her any trouble. Her bloke is quite jealous and very impulsive.”

  “Sounds like a complete asshole.”

  “You can say that again,” snarled Merlon bitterly. “I’ll get Cherry out of there. I just need to work out how best to do that.”

  “I didn’t realise that love could be so exhausting,” joked Volcan.

  “Hmm. À propos exhausting – does your father know you’re here?”

  “Are you out of your mind? Of course not! He’ll knock me to the ground if he finds out I’m here.”

  “Perhaps you’d better disappear before your presence is noticed,” suggested Merlon.

  Volcan sighed.

  “Yes, unfortunately you’re right. I’ll make my way back. I hope you get your girl out of there. If you should need help…”

  “Thanks. I’ll go for a swim now – a bit of swimming has often helped me to think things out.”

  “You can think?” asked Volcan.

  “Shut up! Don’t forget that I was always better in school than you.”

  “Because you copied off Heladios,” interjected Volcan derisively.

  “If you’re clever, you know how to cheat your way through,” answered Merlon, shrugging his shoulders.

  “I’d better get going then,” said Volcan, and he got up. “You’re coming to my wedding, aren’t you?”

  “Of course! But first you’ve got to capture your wife,” said Merlon grinning. “I hope you don’t mess it up. You just don’t know how to deal with women. Perhaps I should help you along?”

  Volcan glared at the elf angrily.

  “Do I look like someone who can’t seduce a girl?”

  Merlon chuckled.

  “The main thing is not to forget to change your form. Your hairstyle is somewhat unusual for the human world, and your ears…”

  “Thank you for the advice,” said Volcan. “I’m not a stupid elf, you know.”

  Merlon grinned. He had already learnt this mistake by experience, when he had once forgotten to take on his human form and totally shocked a woman. Not only did the fact that he had pointed ears and bluish skin not have a particularly good effect on his conquest, but also, or especially, his unusual eyes. Volcan loved making fun of his friend with this old story.

  “OK, we’ll meet up again at my wedding, at the latest. And if you can get hold of your girl by then, just bring her with you.”

  “I’ll do that,” said Merlon grinning. “Let’s see who manages it first.”

  Exesor

  The Master of Destruction grinned devilishly when he saw the Guardian of Fire disappear through the gate of the worlds. So, Volcan was really leaving his little one alone to visit home. A plan was needed. Exesor was not going to miss this opportunity. He was watching Volcan’s intended getting into her car and setting off home.

  Suddenly the destroyer’s face lit up. His wicked spirit rushed to a man who was also just getting into his car. He forced himself into the man’s thoughts. Quietly and insidiously he spread his poison. A wi
cked smile appeared on the man’s lips, as he started up his engine and turned in the same direction as Volcan’s chosen one.

  Chapter 7

  Coreena took her bag out of the boot and locked the car. It had got late at the office. She had worked on Volcan’s campaign and had lost track of time. Work was the one thing that could stop her from constantly thinking about her sexy client. Even now she was standing next to the car, indecisive, her thoughts wandering to Volcan. He conducted himself impeccably at lunch and made no further advances. She had to give him credit for that. Only she was not sure whether she really preferred Volcan the gentleman, or whether she was not truly longing for the outrageous, sexy Volcan who made her blood boil. He had managed to awaken something inside her that she had not been aware of until now. She had no control over it and she was afraid of that.

  She sighed, then gave herself a nudge and went across the underground car park towards the stairwell. It was cold and she shivered. The lighting down here also left a lot to be desired. Almost every other lamp was broken. She would have a word with the caretaker. She had almost reached the stairwell when she was grabbed from behind and a hand was put over her mouth. She felt cold steal on her neck and she froze. Adrenalin shot through her veins and the hair on her neck stood on end. She felt an unpleasant knotting in her stomach.

  “Don’t make a sound!” snarled a male voice. “One word and I’ll cut you open! Understand?”

  Coreena nodded hastily. Fear was choking her. She had always felt uncomfortable in the underground car park, but had somehow hoped that it would never come to an incident like this. As far as she knew there had never been an attack on a woman here before. That was typical for her – always having to be the first to experience a bad thing. She could only hope that he would not kill her, after doing whatever he intended to do with her. Not that she had difficulty imagining what that was. She wished that her damned imagination would not produce such clear and horrible images of what was probably going to happen to her. Maybe it was better if he killed her first, before he did anything else to her. Then she would have no idea what he was doing to her. ‘You’re a terrible coward, Coreena. Fight! Do something!’

  “Very good, my darling,” said the man. “Now we’re going to have a bit of fun together.”

  He pulled her over behind a van, where he pushed her to the ground. She finally tried to defend herself and screamed into his hand. The knife cut into her flesh and intense pain increased her panic. How deeply had he cut? She felt warm blood running down her neck. Would she die now?

  ‘No! I didn’t really mean it. Of course I don’t want to die!’

  “But I told you. Not a sound. Do that again and you’re finished!”

  He took his hand from her mouth to undo his trousers. She put her hands against his upper body to push him away. This could not be happening to her. This kind of thing only happened to other people. Why her? Panic made her hit out at him.

  “No!” she pleaded. “No, don’t!”

  He took a swing and hit her in the face. She saw stars and her field of vision became blurred until she could barely discern anything. Suddenly she heard him screech and a perilous roar sounded through the underground car park.

  “No! Heelllppp! No! Let me go!” screamed her tormentor, and he was pulled off her.

  With blurred vision she saw a figure with long red hair and glowing eyes throw her tormentor against the wall. Almost completely robbed of her sight, she could only hear the man’s groaning and screaming, then a gurgling noise, and finally silence.

  The figure with the extraordinary hair and the glowing eyes came over to her and she whimpered in fear. In panic she tried to crawl away from him.

  “No, please…,” she sobbed.

  He bent down to her.

  “Shhh! Quiet. There, there. It’s all over.”

  The last thing she saw, before she lost consciousness, were green eyes.

  *

  Volcan’s heart was racing, and he was finding it very difficult to calm the rage that he felt inside. Seeing this man trying to rape Coreena had driven him into a wild frenzy. No man was to touch her and most certainly not in this brutal way. She was his. She was the only thing that mattered in his life. He would defend her to his last breath. With great difficulty he fought with the warrior inside him so that he could change into his human form. As he knelt next to Coreena, in the form of Volcan Custos, he closed his eyes. He had made a complete mess. There were only bloody scraps left of the pig that had attacked his chosen one. He had to ensure that all evidence of what had happened here completely disappeared. Not even the tiniest piece of DNA could remain. Volcan focussed fully. He called the dwarves from Ignigena. It just took a minute for four dwarves to materialise next to him. Volcan felt their presence and opened his eyes.

  “You called, Prince Volcan.”

  “I need your help to clear up this mess. No trace must remain – not a drop of blood, no hair, no flesh. And destroy the video recording in the camera up there, too!”

  “As you wish, my prince,” answered the eldest of the dwarves, and the others nodded.

  “Good!” said Volcan, satisfied, and he lifted Coreena up into his arms.

  He left it to the dwarves to get rid of all traces of the fight and carried Coreena to the lift. He took her into her apartment and put her on the sofa. At the sight of the deep cut to her neck and her beaten face, the rage returned, but he overcame it. It was no longer necessary and would only hinder. He had to perform a healing and that required his positive, and not his negative, energy.

  Volcan gently touched the cut to her neck, and the bleeding stopped immediately. He could not completely remove any injury that quickly, but he could accelerate the healing process. The cut would be completely healed within two days. He carefully straightened her broken nose, and the swelling disappeared. This, too, would heal in two or three days. All she needed now was rest. Volcan laid a blanket over her and made himself comfortable in an armchair. Then he took the remote control and put the television on. He would spend the night with her. She should have someone with her when she woke up.

  *

  Coreena came round very slowly. She felt strangely worn out, and she knew that something awful had happened. She just could not remember what. Scraps of images and impressions came into her mind. A figure, in silhouette, with long, red hair. Fear. Screaming. Glowing eyes. Pain. The smell of copper. Green eyes – green eyes?

  Volcan! What did he have to do with this? What had happened to her? She opened her eyes carefully. It was dark – only a constant flickering lit the room sporadically. Her vision was blurred. This was her sofa that she was lying on. Someone was sitting in the armchair, looking at the television. She could not see him clearly, but she still knew who it was. Volcan. She closed her eyes and opened them again after a while. This time she could see a little more clearly, but her head was hurting and she felt very sick. She groaned.

  Volcan leapt from the armchair and went over to her. He knelt down next to the sofa and put a warm hand to her forehead. He looked worried.

  “Coreena. How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve felt better,” she said weakly. “What happened?”

  “You were attacked. In the underground car park. The man hit you and you lost consciousness. I’m so sorry that I didn’t get there sooner. I was…”

  “Attacked? I can’t remember properly.” She put her hand to her forehead. “There… there was a person there with long red hair and glowing eyes.”

  “You probably just imagined that. You were semi-conscious, then you fainted. The man was a completely normal bloke with dark hair – short hair. He definitely didn’t have glowing eyes.”

  “How come you were there? What were you doing in the underground car park?” asked Coreena.

  Volcan looked away. He cleared his throat.

  “I had… just a feeling. No idea. As it turns out, my hunch was apparently right. I was just able to prevent the worst thing happening. I mean… he�
� he didn’t…”

  “Rape me?”

  Volcan nodded.

  “A minute later and he would have done – there’s no doubt about that. His trousers were already… I mean …”

  “I understand. I… thank you.”

  A pained expression appeared on his face and Coreena frowned. Something was not right here. She had the feeling that he had not told her everything. He was keeping something to himself. But why? To protect her? Or to hide something that she should not know about? – Must not know about?

  “Where is the… the man now?”

  “He’ll never hurt you again,” said Volcan without looking at her.

  “Volcan, did you…I mean…”

  “Coreena…,” Volcan began and stopped, because he did not know how he should best explain the whole situation to her.

  He jumped up, and walked up and down the lounge. Coreena followed his every move. Her heart pounded, agitated. What was he keeping from her? Had he killed her tormentor?”

  “We should tell the police, don’t you think?”

  Volcan froze at her question and turned to face her. His expression was of despair and helplessness. He came back to her and knelt down next to the sofa again.

  “That may not be a good idea. They probably won’t catch him anyway and you’d have to put yourself through a lot of awful questions.”

  “They’re sure to find enough evidence at the sight of the crime – DNA – that they can identify on the computer.”

  Volcan sighed.

  “They won’t find anything, Coreena.”

  “Why? What’s happening here?”

  “I can’t explain it to you. Not yet. Please, Coreena, trust me.”

  Coreena’s heart pounded wildly. There she had it! Something was not right about Volcan. She had not trusted him from the beginning. And now here she was, alone with him. Perhaps he was the rapist? No, she could not remember the man, but it was not Volcan. That much she knew. But still, he was hiding something and that was not good.