Day's Patience

by A. W. Exley

  Lettie reached out for Grayson’s hand. “I need to prepare to go see Byron. I do not want to raise his suspicions, and he will expect me to look my best.”

  His fingers tightened around hers. “Are you sure it’s wise?”

  “No, but it is necessary. It will be easier to summon my element if I stand at the centre of where it needs to be.” Before he could object further, Lettie turned to her brother. “When will you and Samuel look for the documents?”

  “Afterwards. I’ll not have you face him alone while I shuffle papers. Once we have dealt with the Ocrams, we can fetch the invoices that show the finances of the Esmeralda were fabricated. I will send them to the Whetstone solicitor, Mr Stevens. He will be able to use them to reclaim the investors’ money from the Ocrams.” Jasper wrapped his arms around his mate.

  “You cannot enter their compound or they will attack you on sight.” They were outnumbered, and Lettie wasn’t strong enough to watch another brother fall.

  “Samuel and I will be nearby, ready to help knock out the ground under their house once you summon water.” The tension returned to Jasper’s shoulders. He would have to watch as his sister entered the den of their enemy, and he would be unable to reach her within.

  Love welled up in Lettie like a king tide. What had once been an empty void inside her was now full. Tears threatened behind her eyes and she blinked them away. “I need to change. Excuse me.”

  Grayson stalked her footsteps, climbing the stairs at her heels, and he closed the bedroom door behind him.

  Lettie crossed to the trunk of clothing and knelt before it. “I know you don’t like this, but it must be done. Please don’t think it means I feel anything for him.”

  “It’s not that.” His voice was quiet behind her. “It’s that I am impotent to help. You and the others are Elementals and I am a mere mortal.”

  His words pierced her body but she couldn’t turn around. She stared at the array of silks and cottons that would be all the armour she would wear. “We each possess different skills.”

  “And different lifespans,” he whispered.

  Her chest heaved. She would watch him wither and die unless they found a way for him to share her life force. Was love worth the pain of loss? Samuel said it was, and Verity had found a way to continue. The memory of love is enough warmth to stop your heart from freezing during the long winter alone. Except she didn’t want to find out.

  “I’ll leave you to change your dress.” Grayson made no sound as he left.

  Only the faint snitch of the door told her he was no longer behind her. A single tear fell down Lettie’s cheek and she wiped it away. They would find a way. Jasper had promised. She held tight to the young girl’s belief in her older brother’s ability to do anything.

  It wasn’t easy to pick an outfit to wear while bringing about the downfall of your enemy. It needed to make a statement while allowing her freedom of movement. That naturally meant nothing with a bustle or corset. She needed to appear demure and acquiescent while representing her element and family. Blue was a colour that could denote both modesty and water.

  Lettie searched through her trunk for a particular dress.

  “Ah ha!” she exclaimed on finding it tucked into a corner.

  She lifted the garment out and gave it a shake. Made of the finest silk, it glided over her skin like water. Wearing it was like being wrapped in her element while appearing clothed. It was the deepest blue, almost bordering on black, and reminded her of the lake in the secret cavern deep under the ground.

  The dress had a scooped neckline that would cling scandalously to her breasts and it moulded to her torso. The skirt fell straight to the floor with a small train that flared out the back. It would flow and move with each step she took.

  “Perfect,” she whispered as she pulled the dress on over her head. Although all she could think about was Grayson removing it later. Assuming they all survived.

  They gathered in the parlour before Lettie was to leave for the Ocram mansion.

  Dawn wrung her hands and paced. Only when Jasper grabbed hold of her and held her tight to his chest did her perpetual motion cease.

  “I’m sorry, but I cannot do this. I cannot battle and kill as you will,” she whispered.

  Like all Meidh, Dawn’s trait had two sides. One aspect was nurturing and the creation of life. The other was extinguishing it. Dawn had only recently learned she could wield her trait to kill.

  Lettie had no problem with killing Soarers, but even though they had both lost loved ones by the enemy’s hand, she could see the idea of fighting was tearing her friend apart. Dawn was the loving heart of their clan, whereas Lettie would be its shieldmaiden.

  Jasper stroked Dawn’s back and soothed her. “You will stay with Grayson and Marjory. We’ll only call upon you as a last resort.”

  Outside, Samuel and Jasper shifted forms while the others climbed into the carriage. The interior was dim and subdued. Grayson sat opposite Lettie and simply stared at her as though memorising every line and angle of her face.

  As the carriage rolled to a stop, he leaned forward and took her hands. “I love you, come back to me,” he whispered and then kissed her.

  Lettie couldn’t squeeze any words from her throat. She nodded and stepped out into the chill night. She would continue from there on her own.

  As she walked up the driveway, she touched her element and reached out with her mind. She sent out a question, seeking all the nearby water sources. The ocean was a large, brooding expanse that, while it heard her, maintained a stony silence. Fresh water sources replied, and Lettie oriented herself with their locations. The main source was the underground river that supplied the village well.

  Satisfied that she could summon water when the time came, Lettie lifted the hem of her skirt and walked up the stairs to the front door.

  A single silver-clad footman stood on guard and flung the door open to admit her. “Mr Ocram awaits you in the ballroom.”

  She followed the same route as last time. Except this time there were no blazing lights, no wafts of music, and there was a curious absence of any other people. Lettie paused at the top of the stairs.

  Below, waiting in the middle of the deserted ballroom, sat Byron Ocram upon an enormous golden throne. He looked every inch the regal sovereign. In one hand he held a gold walking cane. One overhead chandelier bathed him in golden light.

  Whatever else one could say about the sylph, he certainly knew how to put on a show.

  Lettie took her time descending to the ballroom and crossing the parquet floor. Her skirts swished around her legs and she imagined she walked through shallow water toward him. “Good evening, Byron.”

  “I seem to recollect our agreement was for you to be on your knees.” He gave the cold smile as she stopped before his throne.

  “I’d rather stand for what I have to say.” She laced her fingers together to stop the faint tremble that wanted to travel up her arms.

  “But you don’t need to talk, my dear Letitia. I plan to give you a big mouthful of sylph to wrap your lips around.” One corner of his mouth twitched up in a smirk.

  She never noticed before how … hollow he seemed. Just as she had once been, before she realised she loved Grayson and could have a purpose to her life. At first she thought Byron incredibly handsome, and certainly sylphs had attractive outer forms. But as she learned more about him, the veneer peeled off and revealed a rotten core.

  “I think we have a misunderstanding.” She wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed. Did she need to throw down an open declaration of war before she unleashed her element? She really should have discussed this earlier with Jasper.

  The cold smile spread over his lips. “Oh? Let me guess—Lady Letitia Seton has no intention of aligning herself with a clan of successful and wealthy Soarers.”

  Lettie kept her calm exterior in place. “I did wonder how long it would take for you to ferret out the truth. Your seekers are in every dark corner and shadow.”

/>   His hands curled tighter around the silver end of his walking cane. “When my loyal seekers reported that you and the doctor were rather familiar for siblings, I hoped a Warder finally had a deliciously interesting appetite. Imagine my disappointment to find out you are one of the Alysblud Warders.”

  “I simply wanted a change of scenery and a fresh start.” A whisper of fabric, a sniffle, and a scuffle of feet made her peer into the deep shadows at the side of the room. Figures waited in the dark. She might be alone, but Byron was not.

  He waved at the shadows that flowed a step closer. “In case it’s not obvious, you won’t be leaving here alive. My cousin was unsuccessful forty years ago, and I intend to remedy his failure.”

  Lettie’s breath caught in her throat. His cousin. She clenched her hands into fists and concentrated on her task. She reached out to the well in the village and commanded it to come to her.

  Byron raised his walking cane and gestured to his family. “I don’t think so, Letitia. We won’t be having any water ruining our expensive floors.”

  27

  Four salamanders broke from the shadows and encircled her. Lettie spun to face first one and then the next. Two men and two women. One of the women rubbed her hands together as fire flared up her arms. She met Lettie’s wide stare and laughed.

  Davina Lawson.

  Lettie should never have danced with Byron.

  The four fire elements were the points on a compass and Lettie was the centre. Each salamander became a pillar of fire, then they stretched out their hands and it raced sideways until a burning wall penned Lettie.

  Lettie raised her arms before her face as heat and flames licked at her. She gritted her teeth, expecting the flames to march inward and set her alight. But they didn’t. Higher the flames jumped until the ballroom and ceiling disappeared, yet they kept their place a few feet from her.

  Byron wasn’t going to give her a quick, fiery death. His salamanders were going to dehydrate her. The heat pulled the water from Lettie’s form and evaporated it off. She could either call water to fight the suffocating circle of heat, or channel all her strength into the honeycomb deep under their feet.

  She made her choice in a heartbeat. She would burn for her family.

  Lettie had no intention of wasting her energy and element battling them. She needed every ounce of water at her command to flood the voids and spaces far below. Samuel had laboured quietly for four decades and created the network of tiny holes in the bedrock under the Ocram mansion. Now, Lettie would complete his master plan.

  The hidden stream that fed the village well answered her call. Water diverted from its natural course and raced toward them, but as Lettie skimmed its length, she realised it wasn’t going to be enough. While the stream ran valiantly, it didn’t have the force or volume she needed. Lettie reached out, pleading for any other sources to fill the chambers. Trickles and quiet ground water answered, but they were too placid to destroy Samuel’s work.

  Lettie needed a vast source of water. Something powerful that had spent millennia eroding rock. Her mind touched the bottomless ocean, and she begged Gaia for help to make the salt water obey.

  This time, the ocean responded, perhaps because she offered it a new place to flow. After all, the sea spent its entire existence trying to breach the shore. Or more likely it responded to the raw anger flowing through her body.

  At first the ocean was slow and ponderous, like a whale trying to turn when stranded on sand. Tendrils of salt water tested the banks and rock holding it back from land as it sought a way to reach Lettie. Tiny fissures were breached, then widened as the sea pushed inward.

  When the ocean found an inlet, it surged forward. Lettie gasped as the primal power flowed through her. So different to her beloved fresh water. This was strong, endless, and difficult to manage, as though she sought to tame an unbroken horse. The sea water roared as it charged through rock to reach her.

  Heat licked at her skin and singed the hair from her arms. Lettie tried to swallow but her throat was dry and parched. How much longer would she last? Soon her skin would crack and blister, then she would shrivel upon herself as the salamanders sucked away the last of her element.

  Even as she dehydrated in the ballroom, an ocean flowed beneath her. The tide she created found every crevice in bedrock. Narrow conduits increased the force and power of the water as it was channelled toward the small holes under the mansion. Delicate slices of rock were blasted into nothing, and one by one, the structural walls began to collapse.

  Atop the unseen sea, Lettie gasped like a fish hauled out of water and left to drown in the air under a hot summer sun. Her element was so close, and yet she dared not divert a single drop to herself until she knew the job was done.

  A gentle rumble tickled her toes as far below, rock collapsed and the ground began to shift. Outside, Jasper and Samuel worked to split the ground and created a fake earthquake. They had discussed how to minimise the number of humans who might be injured, and hoped the rumbling from below would make staff flee the mansion for safer ground.

  The vibration through the soles of her shoes became a steady thrum as the water ate the interconnecting rock and a massive underground cavern opened up. She had done her part. The mansion now sat atop a giant, water-filled bubble. All Jasper had to do was pop the remaining layer of rock. Then the Ocrams would fall.

  “For Julian,” Lettie whispered as her vision flared and all she saw was red and orange. Her ankles collapsed and she dropped to all fours. Her skin stretched tight over bone and muscle, and she bit off a cry as tiny fissures opened up along her arms and back. Breath struggled to find its way into her scorched lungs, and her blood heated.

  Funny that she had worried she might long outlive Grayson, and yet Gaia gave her only a handful of days with him instead of centuries. At least she had known love, and her family would prevail. Her arms shook from the effort of holding her torso up, and her knees buckled under her. Just as Lettie was about to succumb to the wall of heat, it wavered and one part gave way.

  Cool, refreshing air swirled into the circle and washed over her. She could breathe. With huge effort, she drew a tiny flow of water from below the ground to soothe the splits in her skin.

  A figure stepped through the flame and approached. He wrapped an arm around her middle and hauled her up and to her feet.

  Lettie blinked to clear the red and orange haze that danced before her eyes.

  “I have you,” a familiar voice said, and arms dragged her toward the broken piece of the fire circle.

  Grayson.

  The salamanders sought to close the circle, but Lettie increased the flow of water seeping up through the floor and widened the breach. Puddles stained the expensive golden wood as though the ceiling had leaked all winter. The splashes all joined together and rushed to swirl around her feet as a tiny tide. With a swipe of her arm, Lettie scooped the water from the ground and sent a small wave tumbling to one side. Another quarter of the fire circle was extinguished.

  “You were supposed to stay safe, outside,” she murmured.

  “I couldn’t leave you here alone. As a doctor, I would rather prevent you being injured if I can.” Grayson’s left arm supported her as he pulled her further away from the salamanders.

  Lettie slumped against his left side, and in his right hand he held aloft … a cricket bat.

  The groan and creak of the building was matching by yelling voices and running feet. Cries of “earthquake!” echoed around the ballroom as staff ran for their lives.

  Strength returned to Lettie as she drew more water to her and kept up a wave around them to push back the fire. She cast around to find what created the void for her to escape the fiery corral. She spotted a salamander lying on the floor, blood pouring from a head wound. She glanced from body to cricket bat. “You hit him? You’re a doctor.”

  “I told him he would have a headache when he woke up and to chew on some white willow.” Grayson kept a tight hold on her as he helped her away.


  “Stop her! Bring the undine to me!” Byron yelled from his throne.

  Lettie’s wave had soaked Davina, and steam rose off the angry woman as she sought to reignite her flames. To make sure she stayed damp, Lettie directed another wave to drench her. The remaining two salamanders moved to herd her toward Byron.

  Overhead, the chandeliers shook and crystals screeched as they bumped into each other. Then came a crash as stone, plaster, and shingles rained down on the ballroom floor. Soarers scattered away from the falling debris. Byron jumped from his throne as events spiralled beyond his control.

  Two holes exploded in the roof as gargoyles dropped through. Samuel and Jasper hit the floor with a bang that cracked floorboards. One chandelier came loose and plummeted toward the ground. A scream sounded as it smashed into Byron’s throne, flattening the ornate chair. Crystal fragments shot around the room, and Lettie formed water into a cushion to protect her and Grayson.

  “Did we miss anything?” Jasper rose up and shook plaster from his form.

  The rumble under their feet grew stronger. The building seemed adrift on the ocean as it tilted and swayed. The two chandeliers left attached to the ceiling swung back and forth as the mansion rocked.

  “You cannot win. There are only three of you against my entire family.” Byron floated into the air as the floor buckled and pieces of parquet broke formation and sprang up.

  “Your family seems to be deserting you.” Samuel pointed to the Soarers running for the ballroom stairs. The sylphs among them flew across the wet floor. Samuel sprinted after them. As he ran, the old Warder tucked and rolled. His granite body became a large boulder that smashed into the fleeing Soarers and scattered them like skittles.

  Jasper roared. He jumped a short distance in the air and then slammed down, smashing his fists into the wooden floor. The parquet, already compromised from below, splintered and flew in different directions. Jasper continued to pound. Through wood and support beams he sank until he hit the foundation stones underneath.