“Did Claire bring back Pebbles for you?”
Mindy nodded.
“I bet she loves you very much,” Jade said, teasing Mindy’s hair out of her face.
Mindy smiled.
“Come on, I’ll get you tucked in,” Jade said, stopping at the bathroom to wash out her mouth and throw her toothbrush in the holder before getting Mindy settled.
The house was quiet.
Bertha smiled.
Her girls were safe.
*** The End***
Author’s Note
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help authors qualify for great advertising venues.
Although some of the settings in this novel are real, many of them are fictionalized. As far as I know, there is no such town as Wildwood Springs in Washington State. I wanted a tiny town in the mountains for my Elementals to grow up in, one where I could control the size and the buildings and everything else.
Day Soldiers is a real book about vampires and a personal favorite with non-stop action and a bit of humor.
A Time to Die will be out soon. Please read on for the opening chapters.
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Excerpt from Book 2 of the Elemental Rage Series: A Time to Die
Chapter 1
~~ Jade ~~
Jade detested school. At least English class was tolerable. She slid into her seat and pulled out her laptop. Everyone was chattering or on their computers. Jade just wanted to be alone, to stop the noise. Everything felt so loud.
Closing her eyes, Jade heard the screams again. Maybe she needed a shrink. It was seven years ago since she had accidentally killed her Dad, but somehow she’d manage to block it out. Until last summer.
A hand slapped the desk in front of her.
Jade jumped.
“Wake up, Pippi.” Danika’s perfume filled the room. She wore a bemused expression on her face, standing over Jade while she waggled a finger painted to perfection in hot pink.
The class roared in laughter.
Jade flushed. She lifted her eyes to meet Danika’s, her jaw jutting out. Just once she wanted to punch Danika hard in the face. Just once.
Fire agreed. But Fire wanted more. Fire’s voice whispered, She should burn.
As the most unstable of the Elements, it took a strong-willed Elemental to guide Fire. Very few Elementals were born with a gift for Fire, and those who did sometimes died tragically young in mysterious blazes. Aunt Bertha had explained it all…several years too late.
Jade calmed Fire. It wouldn’t do to have Danika’s hair suddenly burst into flames in the middle of English class. She narrowed her eyes at Danika, “Maybe you should work on those burrs.”
Danika raised an eyebrow. This was new. Usually Jade turned a thousand shades of red and shrank away while the class laughed.
She said, “Burrs? What are you talking about?”
“I can see why you’d be so unpleasant having them shoved up your…”
At that moment Mr. Tanner strode into the classroom. The class tittered and Jade maintained eye contact with Danika, a staring contest that she decided not to lose. In the past, she always looked down, down at her hands, down at her lap, and Danika would walk by with her nose in the air like God’s gift to the world.
“Wow, Looks like Pippi grew a pair,” Danika flipped her hair back and pushed by Jade with a butt wiggle in Tom’s direction. He was always ogling Danika. Her short skirts encouraged it.
Jade took a deep breath and counted to ten. When she was still angry, she made a list of all the reasons she was smarter than Danika. She couldn’t say prettier, as much as she wanted to. Jade was realistic about her own prospects. With long reddish-brown hair, a strong nose and jaw line, and a tall figure, Jade couldn’t compete with Danika’s perky nose and huge eyes set in a perfectly oval face. Danika had a classic beauty that she used to full advantage. Jade had…nothing.
First period ended. Finally.
Nothing terribly exciting happened through second period either. Danika was back again in Chemistry during third period. That was the worst thing about a small school. You had class with the same group of people over and over and over. The kids destined for college might take the tougher classes while the kids destined for other things ended up in remedial classes, but for the most part, Jade had to spend the day listening to Danika and her three besties blather on and flirt.
Jade felt that sick thud in her stomach when Ms. Hunt said, “We’re going to choose Chemistry partners. You’ll be partnered for the school year.”
It really hurt being unpopular. Jade dreaded the moment when Ms. Hunt said, “Divide into pairs.”
The moment never came. Instead, the teacher started reading pre-assigned teams. The class groaned as a whole, but Jade could only feel the weight of sweet relief wash the tension out of her shoulders. Maybe Ms. Hunt understood. She was a mousy woman with thin features and long, slender fingers. Her hair was completely white, although for some reason she curled it and teased it as if she was still stuck in the eighties. With oversized cardigans and long skirts, Ms. Hunt was certainly unique. Jade liked her for it. The rest of the class might make hurtful side comments, but Jade felt a bond with the teacher who had to suffer the same unpopularity that she herself felt.
Ms. Hunt might have a mousy face and small, round body, but her voice boomed. As she read the list of names, Jade held her breath. Please not Danika. Please not Danika.
No one was more surprised than Jade when Ms. Hunt said, “Jade, you’re with Zach. Second row, middle.”
Jade grabbed her backpack and snuck a glance at Zach. He grinned at her with real warmth. For a moment, she was surprised and then she smiled back. He was cute. Grey-blue eyes that changed with the clothes he was wearing and a casual ease that didn’t care what anyone else thought.
It was probably the first real smile she’d had in a month.
They would be partners for the year, Zach and Jade.
Jade’s finest moment came at a time that could have been humiliating. She wasn’t a clumsy person by nature, but as she set her vial in the refrigerator, another team’s vial fell. She picked up that vial and set it down, only to have two more fall.
Zach noticed and started laughing. He said, “Here, let me try.”
Jade stepped back, and Zach picked up one of the fallen vials. He very gently placed it on the rack. With a superior grin and an infectious smile, he lifted his hands, “See? It just takes a steady hand.”
Jade giggled. She wasn’t normally a giggler, but Zach somehow loosened the tightness in her gut that made school feel dreadful. He reached for the last vial lying on its side and ever so carefully righted it.
Another vial fell in its place.
Clapping her hand to her mouth, Jade exploded in laughter. Zach couldn’t help himself, he did a little dance and after a gale of laughter said, “Now, I’m really serious. This vial will not beat me.”
As his hand approached the vial, he was laughing so hard his hand shook. Soon he and Jade were holding their sides, laughing so hard that tears were running down their cheeks. “What’s going on over there?” Ms. Hunt had given them a minute of laughter, but apparently they’d made a spectacle of themselves.
Jade said, “Nothing, Ms. Hunt.”
Zach said, “We’re having trouble getting the vials to stand at attention.”
Zach reached in once more, his eyes still gleaming and gently placed the last vial and this time, the vials all remained standing.
Jade wanted to say something to Zach, but she had no idea how to say it. Thanks for not being a jerk? Thanks for not making fun of me? No.
The moment passed and Zach quickly avoided any awkwardness by referring back to the experiment. Jade couldn’t believe how much fun Chemistry had been. It would have been perfect, but as they were leaving class, Danika said to no one in particular, “I heard that
Jade’s father died under mysterious circumstances. Stabbed and burned alive. Maybe her family is mafia or something,”
Zach heard and turned to look at Jade.
She didn’t know what she saw in his eyes, sympathy or condemnation.
Jade buried her bitter anger and walked quickly to her locker.
~~ Raven ~~
Raven looked hot in her leopard print dress with black leather boots. Her makeup was light, eyeliner and lip gloss, but it was all she needed. If only she didn’t have that scar along the top edge of her cheek, she would be a top ten.
At lunch Raven hung with her usual friends. Of the group Shelly was her best friend. It was painful to watch her sister grab her food and go outside. Last year Raven looked away when her sister looked desperately in her direction during lunch time. This was the first day that Raven had really seen Jade in the lunch room since school started. Pushing up from the table, she said, “I’ll be right back.”
She caught Jade at the end of the line, “Hey, come sit with me.”
“Are you sure?” Jade felt like a leper. Her sister wasn’t the most popular kid in school, but she certainly wasn’t unpopular either. Shelly was a bit of a stoner, but they had a mix of smart kids and jocks in their group, all in Raven’s class, of course. Raven was much more popular than Jade.
Raven shrugged, “We’re sisters.”
Jade wondered if the Universe had tilted on its axis. She was actually having a semi-decent day, if you discounted Danika’s regularly-scheduled nastiness. She followed Raven to the table. There was no need for introductions. In a small school, they all knew each other, even if they didn’t speak on an every-day basis.
There was an empty seat next to Jade. She was even more surprised when Zach brought his tray to her table and asked, “Do you mind if I sit here?”
Raven waved a hand, “Be our guest.”
Jade didn’t even manage a squeak. Raven wondered that her sister ever survived as long as she had. She was such a straight-laced prude and much too shy for her own good. She couldn’t wait to grill Jade on the hottie when they got home.
Zach was clearly interested in Jade…and Raven would bet a hundred dollars that Jade was completely oblivious.
Shelly got to talking about a cool out-of-town party on Saturday. Raven seriously wanted to tell her to shut up until class. Raven shared a room with Jade. Sneaking out was hard enough when Jade wasn’t expecting it.
“Did you hear about the couple they found murdered in Port Siena?” Shelly leaned forward, her voice a loud whisper designed to carry to the ends of the table while yet invoking mystery.
Zach looked decidedly uncomfortable.
Jade couldn’t remember hearing anything about it. Of course, she had no time for the news.
Mike answered, “The rumor is the couple were husks, like something had cleaned them out from the inside.”
Raven nudged Jade, her eyebrows raised. After their last brush with the supernatural, she was more than interested in what might have killed the family.
Jade shrugged.
Raven sighed. She thought Jade would have heard something from Aunt Bertha. She had been relying more and more on Jade lately. Raven figured Aunt Bertha knew everything supernatural that happened on the west coast. She surely would have heard about that. Raven couldn’t wait to get home and ask what was going on. Not that she wanted to go on a monster-hunt, but she did want to know what was lurking two towns over.
At least Aunt Bertha was a deep sleeper these days. Since the summer she hadn’t been sitting in her chair once when Raven attempted to sneak out. Raven would definitely sneak out for the party on Saturday night.
~~ Bertha ~~
Bertha thanked the doctor and picked up her cane. Her back was on fire, but now it had a name. There was a finality to the moment. Bertha would never see this doctor again. The first in a string of lasts.
“Thank you,” Bertha hobbled out of the office, thinking how odd it was for her to thank the doctor for her death. Metastasize. What a horrible word.
The weight of the diagnosis fell on Bertha like a giant stone. She didn’t have the strength for a prolonged fight anyway. At eighty years old, she was past chemotherapy. The cure would kill her as fast as the disease.
As she reached for the car door, she dropped her cane. Bertha felt frozen. She didn’t think she had the strength to bend down and pick it up. She had been great at ignoring twinges. With her sister’s death and niece’s disappearance, it was no wonder she pulled a muscle in her back…or so she thought last summer. But that’s not what happened.
What would she tell the girls?
Bertha leaned against the window of the car.
“Ms., Are you okay?”
It was one of the nurses, a sweet young thing, probably older than she looked. Everyone looked like a child to Bertha, even men with gray hair. She straightened, “I seem to have dropped my cane. Would you be a dear? I can’t bend like I used to.”
Just like that the cane was back in her hand. Such a simple thing for a stranger. The woman helped fit her keys in the door, “Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”
Bertha thought of Jade. If she called, Jade would wonder what she was doing in front of St. Luke’s Center of Oncology. “I’m fine. Just dropped my cane.”
As Bertha buckled her seatbelt, she wondered just how long it would take. The doctor said six months. That was, Bertha supposed, a reasonable guess. The body did what the body would do. Maybe she had a lot of fight in her. Maybe she could drag it out a decade, go into remission, or maybe…
Who was she kidding? Her hair was white. Her skin had turned into parchment over the years. She had gotten old. She would die of something sooner than later.
She had to tell the girls.
Bertha drove the sixty miles home. The nearest hospice was sixty miles from the little town of Wildwood Springs as well. Picking up the prescription in town at the small store that housed the pharmacy, Bertha was glad for the laws that prevented talk. In a town like Wildwood Springs everyone was in everyone else’s business.
She hobbled around like everything was fine, greeting the folks in town with a smile while she picked up a few things. Then she drove out to the lonely house in the gully near the woods where the creek burbled and the breezes played, where any Elemental would feel right at home.
Fire and Earth had finally awakened in the girls. All four girls carried their element. It was time for a Spirit Walk. Bertha didn’t know if she was up for it. She really should have done it before the end of summer.
The house was quiet. The girls wouldn’t be home for at least another hour, three for Jade. At least Raven had decided not to do volleyball this year. Raven took the bus home with Claire and Mindy. She would drive the girls in Amy’s car from the end of the gravel driveway to the house, saving Bertha the trip.
Bertha spent those hours on the bed. She meant to start dinner, but the pain was so sharp, she thought she’d take just a few minutes to lie down. Suddenly the girls were shrieking…no that wasn’t right, they were just calling in regular voices, but she was oh-so-sensitive to noise right now.
She pushed herself upright, and grabbed her cane.
“Did you girls have fun at school?” Bertha felt forced and fake. At her age, she should be able to say anything she wanted. She really didn’t care how school went. She just wanted to sit quietly and be left alone.
Raven shrugged, “It was fine.” She passed quickly through the house and shut the door to her room with Jade. Bertha wouldn’t see her again until dinner in a few hours and even then she’d be lucky if Raven said more than three words.
Claire said. “No. I have to make up an experiment of my own with a provable hypothesis. I’m pretty sure scientists have already studied anything I could come up with.
“I’m sure you’ll think of something original,” Aunt Bertha said, feeling like a fraud. Forty years ago, she’d have been actively helping Claire think of something. She just didn’t
feel like it now. She hurt. She wanted to be left alone.
Claire took Mindy to her room to help her change.
Aunt Bertha inched her way to the kitchen and wondered when crossing the house had turned into a marathon. Meatloaf tonight. No way would she let a little pain keep her from taking care of her girls.
A fleeting thought crossed her mind, and Bertha wondered who would care for them when she was gone.
***Coming Soon: A Time to Die
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Excerpt from A Time to Die
A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) Page 22
