by Mia Marshall
Some days, Vivian would join me before catching a ride to the university for her graduate classes. A week prior, she’d officially given up her apartment on campus, choosing to move into the cabin permanently and bringing along a small mountain of computer equipment. She gave no reason for her choice, but I thought I understood. After everything that happened, it would be a long time before any of us really felt safe alone.
Today, it was just me at the breakfast bar. I wrote for a long time, attempting to sort through my various parental angst. When my personal life remained an unsolvable mess, I outlined what little we knew about the missing shifter boy, looking for connections we overlooked the day before. I knew the agents would want me to update them, but that didn’t sound nearly as interesting as figuring it out myself. Besides, it wasn’t even eight o’clock. They wouldn’t be in the office yet. I was only being helpful by taking the initiative, surely.
Sera’s laptop rested on the breakfast bar. Hesitantly, I opened it and began searching James’s and Pamela’s names with no real idea what I was looking for. Vivian might be a computer genius, but she was hardly typical of our race. Most elementals weren’t renowned for their technical proficiency. We lived too long to hop on every new fad that appeared, and many of us had assumed that computers were just a passing trend.
I hadn’t shared that belief, but I’d disappeared during a decade when technology moved from something that was pretty cool to something that used to only exist in science fiction movies. I still had almost no idea what I was doing.
By the time Simon and Vivian appeared, I’d learned nothing of note about James, Pamela, or her mother but had somehow lost an hour on a website I’d never seen before. I looked up absently as they entered the room. “Where have you been? You have to see this site I found. It’s amazing.”
Vivian stood behind me to get a better view. “Wikipedia?” Her voice was strangled, the sound of someone trying desperately not to laugh.
I sighed. Apparently, my discovery was only thrilling to me. “Whatever. While you were out, I learned about every country music award from the last ten years, and none of you can take that away from me.”
“Find anything about the case?” This was from Sera, wandering into the room with a large yawn and heading directly for the coffee pot.
Somehow, the magical combination of blue links and honky tonk had pushed any sense of urgency from my brain. “Um, only if James is now living in Nashville.” She sent me a dry look that I cheerfully ignored. She couldn’t be too superior, considering she’d been in bed while I’d been hard at work. Well, intending to be hard at work.
Vivian grabbed the laptop and quickly typed an address, causing the wondrous Wikipedia to disappear. It was replaced quickly by a map of the Lake Tahoe basin. “Fortunately, some of us have been working this morning. Those of us the FBI isn’t paying, I might point out.”
“Free rent isn’t enough for you, Viv?” Sera filled a mug and hopped up on the breakfast bar, craning her neck to get a view of the screen.
“You know how much a hacker on the FBI payroll would make?” Vivian replied evenly, bringing up a small blinking dot on the screen.
Sera’s eyes narrowed, the expression of a woman formulating a plan. Machiavellian tendencies seemed to run in my family. “If I paid you, I’d have to pay Simon, too.” She turned to Simon. “But you’re still packed, aren’t you?”
Simon stepped away from the toaster, where he appeared to have been admiring his own reflection. “Yes, I still plan to return north. While I enjoy your company a surprising amount, I miss performing.”
“We could clap every time you shift.” I thought it was a helpful suggestion, but I only received a baleful stare in reply.
“Okay, got her.” Vivian tilted the laptop slightly, making it easier for everyone to see. “It looks like Carmen is currently at the gym. I’m guessing James isn’t with her.”
“Carmen?” I asked.
“Carmen Avila. Pamela’s mom, potential wearer of incriminating clothing and owner of an easily hacked cellphone GPS system. She’s all yours, ladies.”
Sera grabbed Vivian’s shoulders in a one-armed hug and squeezed lightly. “Never leave us, Vivian.”
Before Vivian left for class, she programmed my phone’s map application to show the blinking blue dot. Simon refused to accompany us, insisting we needed to learn to function without his brains and charm, and there was no answer when I knocked on Mac’s trailer. His Bronco wasn’t in the driveway, and I wasn’t certain he’d returned the night before.
When my phone rang two hours later, Sera and I were sitting in her Mustang half a block from a nail salon, attempting stealth in a car that steadfastly refused to blend. I answered on the first ring.
“What, exactly, are you hoping to learn by following Carmen?” If a growl could sound amused, that was the tone of Mac’s question.
“You know, grooming tips. I wanted some guidance about whether I should get the French manicure or just a natural buff. Why are you here?” I craned around in my seat, looking for a sign of the Bronco.
There were several moments of silence, during which I suspected he was counting slowly to five. “And if I asked you to leave?”
“I’d ask why you were following Pamela’s mother, because I doubt your presence here is mere coincidence, and I’d inquire whether you planned to share what you learned.”
“Aidan, I’d help if I could, but this is shifter business. There are limits to what I can share with you.”
I considered being understanding for a moment or two, then decided being reasonable seemed like too much effort. “You once had no problem being involved in elemental business.”
“That was different.”
“How?” Another long silence, though I suspected this was due to his lack of an answer. Without warning, my frustration at his recent avoidance techniques came to the surface, and my reply came out sharper than I intended. “Look, Mac, find out what you’re allowed to share, then get back to us. Because we were one step ahead of you last night, and we plan to stay one step ahead of you until we find James. You know we can be trusted, and you know you want us on your side. You can tell the rest of your furry brethren I said so.” I hung up while he was still attempting to sputter a comeback. I didn’t definitively get the last word, but it was close enough.
Sera gave me a contemplative look. “What?” I asked.
She just shook her head. “We’re the best liaisons ever.”
Carmichael chose that particular moment to phone us. Fortunately, he called Sera, leaving me free to track Carmen on my phone.
I couldn’t hear Carmichael’s end of the conversation, but Sera’s was more than articulate enough for the both of them. “Report?” she asked, as if she’d never heard the word before and needed him to define it.
Muffled yelling came through the other end, and she grinned, enjoying his outrage. “Today? I don’t think that will work for us.” The blue dot began to move. I showed the screen to Sera, and she nodded and put the car into drive.
“I’m pretty sure it’s against state law to drive while on the phone. An FBI agent wouldn’t want you to break the law.” I spoke loudly enough for Carmichael to hear me.
“You’re absolutely right, Aidan. I’ll call you later, Carmichael.” Though I still couldn’t make out any of his words, Carmichael’s tone was plenty expressive. “What’s that? Sorry, sta...tic. Can’t...hear.” She threw me the phone, and I pressed the end button. “It might be worth finding a backup employment plan, Ade.”
I indicated she should turn left at an upcoming intersection. “I’m sure my English degree and your art history one prepared us for rewarding careers filing TPS reports.”
She grimaced. We both had plenty of money, and always would. We were from old families, powerful lines that had existed since the birth of our race and had the bank accounts one would expect from people who’d relied on compound interest since the days of the Holy Roman Empire. We could easily live
on just the dividends from our trust funds for the rest of our days, but neither of us were too keen on taking money from our parents right now. It might have only been a token effort at individuating ourselves, but even a token felt better than nothing.
“Turn right at the light. It looks like she’s heading toward the freeway.”
At the light, Sera came to a full stop. There was no traffic, and she could have easily made the turn, but instead she lingered, eyes fixed on the rearview mirror and a small smile playing on her mouth. I twisted around to see the rear window completely covered by a large grill, the sort that might belong to an SUV. Like, say, a Bronco. “Where is she now?”
I looked at the screen. “Wait.” The light turned green, and still she sat, unfazed by the enormous vehicle inching its way toward her or the honks of the cars waiting behind the Bronco. I watched the blue dot slowly merge onto I-80. “She’s gone. Go for it.”
She turned slowly into the right lane. Mac tried to pull around her, eager to reach Carmen. Sera drifted into the left lane, blocking his way. “You’ve still got her?”
“Yep. She’s on 80, heading east.”
She drifted back to the right lane, easily cutting him off again. “Think he can find her from here?”
“Only if the shifters have a Vivian on staff. Otherwise, he’s just guessing.”
She grinned. “No one else has a Vivian.” She stuck in a tape and turned the volume up loud, raising her voice to be heard above the Pixies. “You know, I’ve always wanted to lose someone in a car chase.”
“Is that so?” I kept my voice calm while checking that my seat belt was secure and gathering some water from the air, just in case I needed it to repair injuries sustained in a car crash.
“Ade, I think today’s the day we strike that one from the bucket list.” With no further warning, she swung the wheel hard to the left, turning from the far right lane and crossing three lanes of traffic. Mac was right behind us, making the same treacherous turn.
“Good news is, we just got confirmation they don’t have a Vivian,” I said. “Bad news...”
“Bad news is Mac’s as damned stubborn as you are,” she finished. She made a sharp turn into an alley, and my entire body swayed in my seat, fighting for equilibrium. She barely slowed at the end of the alley, just long enough to confirm we wouldn’t die instantly if we pulled into traffic at that moment. The car hurtled across the street and darted into the next alley. Mac was forced to slow down to allow a truck to pass, but a moment later he was across the road and gaining on us with unexpected speed. Sera cursed. Her eyes scanned the approaching street, planning her next maneuver.
“Do try to remember that longevity isn’t the same as immortality, please.”
“How the hell is he making these turns? He drives a box on wheels.” A light bulb appeared to go off. She slowed down, driving almost like a normal person, and took a left at the next light, heading out of town and away from the freeway. She watched Mac follow us in the rearview mirror, grinning the whole time. “You know, it’s a good thing I know this area as well as I do.” Ten minutes later, we were well into the trees, driving along a twisting two-lane road with the Bronco following closely, expecting us to lead him toward the woman we were both tracking. “And a good thing we went to so many parties in college. Mac’s not much of a party guy, is he?”
“No, he’s not.” I smiled, quickly grasping her plan. Sure enough, a moment later she turned onto a dirt road, one many high school and university students had traversed in the years before they turned twenty-one and could legally hit the bars. At the end of this road was a clearing where countless kegs had been tapped and many a young party-goer had lost their virginity, the contents of their stomachs, or their dignity.
The place was famous both for its isolation and because it provided an exit strategy if a party was busted by the cops. This side of the clearing was blocked by an enormous fallen tree trunk, which was slightly raised on one end about a meter and a half off the ground. It wasn’t enough space for a cop car loaded with sirens or, for that matter, a large Bronco, but it provided plenty of room for a ‘66 Ford Mustang. Sera cruised underneath and sailed to the opposite side of the clearing, but Mac was forced to draw to a stop. For just a moment, he was close enough that I could see his face. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he might be laughing.
Sera was already on the only other road out. It was just a tiny strip of dirt, too small for the Bronco. Even the Mustang barely fit. I pushed a button on my phone, and Mac answered immediately.
“Yes?”
“One step ahead, big guy,” I said, enjoying the cocky tone I heard in my own voice. “We’re always gonna be one step ahead. Let us know when you’re ready to talk.” With that, I hung up, confident I’d gotten the last word this time.
CHAPTER 5
“I don’t care if you duct tape him and trap him in the house. Simon stays.” I whispered, but my vehemence was perfectly clear.
Sera adjusted her position, giving herself a slightly better view of the room below. “Is this because of how much you’ve come to appreciate his company?”
I felt myself slipping and clutched the tiles more tightly. “What other reason could I have?” Cautiously, I inched forward. My body scraped across the tiles, and I winced, certain those below could hear. A moment passed, and then another, but no one looked upwards to find two elementals gazing curiously through the skylight.
“For the record, this wasn’t on the bucket list.” She was smiling, though, and it seemed likely she was rewriting the list to include “climb stranger’s roof for the hell of it” even as we spoke.
“Spying on a bored housewife because she might have some connection to a missing teenage bear shifter? I can’t imagine why not.” The object of our pursuit sat below us, reclining elegantly in a white armchair and surrounded by several more women on equally white sofas. They all held copies of the same book on their lap. “Let’s agree that, no matter what happens from here, we never admit we successfully ditched Mac only to observe a book club meeting in a planned community outside Reno.”
“Hell, let’s agree to never admit to being in a planned community and call it good.”
I nodded my enthusiastic agreement. “And agree to drug Simon, lock him in the closet, and leave all future roof-climbing expeditions to him.”
“I’m in. Our karma’s solid these days. I’m pretty sure we’re due at least one excessive display of power.”
Any retort I might have made died on my lips. My karma might be somewhat more flawed than Sera’s, given the bodies I’d left in my wake. Even the memory of those deaths was enough to cause something in my core to stir. I felt it stretch and grin, that fiery side of myself. It was eager, and it wanted an outlet.
Several deep breaths later, I forced it down and mentally locked it away, scared of how easily it kept springing to life. I reached for the only magic I wanted to call my own, looking for the water that defined me. There was less of it in the air here than in Tahoe, but I still found enough.
Sera watched the entire process, obviously drawing her own, accurate conclusions about my sudden distraction. “You with me?” she asked.
I blew out a gust of air, imagining the tension leaving my body with it. It was a technique Vivian had taught me, and while most of the time it felt like New Age nonsense, it still beat exercise.
“I’m here.”
She nodded, watching me carefully. “He might be wrong, you know. Or lying. You must have considered it, cause I have.”
She meant Josiah, the man so certain I was a ticking time bomb. “Of course. You think that wasn’t my first impulse? Life would be so simple if he were just lying. But it’s him, and my mother, and Brian and Trent Pond. More than any of that, there’s me. I don’t know how to explain it, but something’s changed since I discovered my fire side. All the time, I feel a little unbalanced. Something is a tiny bit off, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
Her face was thoughtful. She beli
eved me, but she wasn’t giving up, not yet.
“Tell me, what’s it like?” I asked. “Accessing fire, I mean. I find physical water and talk to it, manipulate it. There’s no fire around right now, but you could still burn down this entire neighborhood.”
She sat up carefully and looked around, at row after row of identical pale houses. She grimaced. “Don’t tempt me.” She pulled a small orb of fire from the air. She juggled it lightly between her hands, then brought it to her mouth, swallowing it whole and smiling.
“So, when Carmichael sacks us, the circus is still our backup plan?”
“Hell, yeah. I’ll look good in one of those leotards. You can be the bear tamer.” She cast a sly glance my way, one I studiously ignored. Sera had been surprisingly quiet on the subject of Mac’s and my thwarted flirtation. I’d known it couldn’t last.
Luckily, she moved on. “You’ve made fire. Maybe not intentionally, but you know how to do it. Do you remember what it was like?”
I remembered rage, pure rage coursing through me and obliterating everything good in its path, everything that might care what was right and wrong. I eased myself onto my back till I was staring up at the cloudless blue sky. “Yeah, but I don’t remember how the fire started.”
“It’s not that different from what you do. You find the components of water and pull them to you.” I demonstrated easily, letting a stream of water encircle her head. “What are the components of fire? Oxygen, heat, and fuel. Well...” She waved her hand, indicating the air surrounding us. “Oxygen is rarely a problem.” She took my hand and held it to her forehead. “Heat never is, either. We run hot, though we still tend to feel cold when the temperature drops too much.” Eyebrows knit together, she quickly felt my forehead. “Not as warm as me, but yeah. You’re warmer than average.”
I felt my own forehead and wondered how I’d never noticed it before. Elementals don’t often go to doctors, since no modern medicine was as effective as exposure to our element, but I’d been in contact with many other elementals, must have felt their skin and heat.
