Concealed Influence

by V. M. Marsh

  “I changed my mind. I was going to blow them over instead until Lars sent up those flames. I didn’t want to turn it into a blow torch on them.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You weren’t supposed to deviate from the plan. Get them in a cage before-“

  Too late. Lars had used his persuasive perception to make it look like he and Charlie had disappeared.

  I spread my legs and bent them at the knees while pulling a knife from my pouch to hold out in front of me. Slowly turning in a circle, I tried to look for some indication an attack was imminent. Damn, I hated this power when I was on the receiving end.

  Suddenly, I was tackled to the ground. I struggled against the weight on my back. “Here, Scarlet. One of them is on me.”

  She grunted and fell to her knees. “Sorry, I’m a little busy myself here.”

  My arms were pinned as a knee pressed into my back. Felt too much like a cop move for it to be Lars. Still, that was little comfort. As a law enforcement officer, Charlie knew how to subdue and detain people. I was stuck.

  Turning my head, I watched Scarlet swirl wind around herself in a force field of sorts. She was pushed to the ground and her wind slowed before dissipating. Lars must have been close enough to be inside her protective bubble with her. Damn.

  Becoming visible again with twin shit eating grins, Charlie and Lars released us. Slowly rising, I dusted off my pants with a scowl. “We could have gotten them if you’d followed the plan, Scarlet.”

  “I thought my new one would be faster and easier. If they were truly our enemies, I wouldn’t have worried about roasting them, so my plan would have done the job just fine.” She scowled.

  “We’re just too good for you. Admit it.” Lars crossed his arms smugly.

  “No, we were just too nice and made sure not to hurt you.” Frustration welled in my chest. I hated losing.

  “We won while also making sure not to hurt you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We all need to implement better teamwork. You guys pulled it off there in the end, but we should be more coordinated to fight someone as powerful as Bradley.”

  Charlie nodded. “She’s right. We are all acting as individuals instead of a cohesive unit.”

  “Let’s try to figure out how to do that over dinner.”

  Checking his watch, Charlie grimaced. “I need to get to work. You guys come up with a strategy, and I’ll meet you back here tomorrow morning.”

  Hanging our heads, we trudged back to my cabin lost in our thoughts. When it came into view, I held out my arm to block the others. Then I motioned them to follow me as I hid behind a tree.

  “What is it?” Scarlet whispered.

  “There’s a red jeep I don’t recognize out front.”

  Lighting up, Scarlet stepped out from behind the tree and strolled to the Wrangler. When she neared, the door flew open. As Cade stepped out and opened his arms wide, she didn’t hesitate to enter his embrace. I watched longingly as he kissed her like they’d been separated for years instead of days.

  Lars spun me and pushed me against a tree. His hot gaze raked over me and then he leaned in until his warm breath tickled my ear. Goosebumps broke out across my skin as tingles fluttered low in my belly.

  “I will fight for you, for us. You belong with me, and I will do whatever it takes to keep anyone from coming between us again.”

  I had just enough time for a quick, sharp inhale before his lips crashed to mine in a kiss that seared me right down to my soul. Throwing my arms around his neck, I pulled him closer until my breasts were crushed beneath the firm weight of his chest. He was so strong and solid, I could almost believe he would succeed.

  My hands slid beneath his shirt, and the firm muscles of his back made me moan. He pulled my leg up to hook it on his waist as he rubbed against my core. Tension knotted as I became lost in the sensation of his touch, his kiss, his scent.

  A throat cleared beside us. If I hadn’t been pinned to the tree, I would have sprung away from him. However, Lars held me in place as his kiss turned sweet before his lips released mine. He breathed heavily while leaning his forehead against my head. His earnest gaze penetrated mine before he gave me a quick peck and turned to scowl at whoever had interrupted us.

  Embarrassed, I hid my face in his shoulder and attempted to lower my leg. Lars latched onto my ankle to hold it in place.

  Scarlet laughed. “If you guys need to finish up here before joining us, Cade and I can make dinner.”

  My face heated. and I could feel it turning red. Taking a deep fortifying breath, I pushed Lars away. He reluctantly released me and stepped back to give me room to straighten my shirt.

  “We’re good. Well, not good, but we’re not horny teens that can’t wait.” I hooked my arm through Scarlet’s and headed for the house.

  “Speak for yourself,” Lars muttered while adjusting himself.

  Scarlet grinned while I shot him a sympathetic look over my shoulder. Quickly turning away, I smothered a grin at his narrowed eyes shooting daggers at the back of Scarlet’s head.

  Cade was waiting for us on the porch. “Sorry, man. I told her to leave you alone, but she wouldn’t listen. I’m Cade.” He held out his hand.

  Surprise splashed over Lars’s face. Not many people offered him the respect of a handshake.

  “Lars. Thanks for trying. It’s been a long day, and I’m starving.” His gaze raked over me, and it took everything I had not to fan myself.

  “Come on in and make yourself at home. Since I knew we’d be out all day and hungry when we returned, I made Duck Confit and potatoes in the crockpot. It should be ready now.” I told them.

  “I’ll set the table while you guys put out the food.” Scarlet said strolling into the kitchen.

  It took no time at all to get everything set out and sit down to eat.

  “This smells amazing,” Cade said.

  “Thanks. Please don’t wait for me, dig in.” I gestured to the pot of duck and potatoes along with a bowl of salad.

  “So, what did you guys do today?” Cade asked.

  “We spent the day failing miserably at fighting as a team.” Scarlet replied before popping a piece of duck in her mouth and moaning.

  I caught the flash of lust in Cade’s eyes before he shook himself out of it and frowned. “What was the problem?”

  “Well, apparently we all have trouble with the team part. We kept sacrificing ourselves to save our teammates and changing plans without consulting one another.” I tilted my head towards Scarlet.

  She pointed her fork at me. “Hey, I wasn’t the one sacrificing myself. That was all you. I just came up with better plans once you were out of earshot.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t just us. Charlie and Lars are used to working alone too.”

  “We still won.” Lars retorted.

  “That was luck.” I said before shoving salad into my mouth.

  Cade took a bite of potato and chewed thoughtfully. “It sounds like you need some teambuilding exercises. What are everyone’s strengths?”

  “You know I have wind and can make storms. Charlie can hypnotize people with his voice. It appears this bad boy over here can become invisible and shoot fire. And Emma kicks ass both physically and throwing special knives.” Scarlet paused. “Oh, and you are good at bossing everyone around.”

  He tilted his head in agreement. “Navy Chiefs have to be good at keeping people in line and organized so things get done.”

  “That’s not exactly what Lars does.” I spoke up. “Yes, about the fire, but he doesn’t have the power of invisibility exactly. What he actually does is messes with brain patterns to make people think what he wants them to. This means he could make people unable to see him so he appears invisible or make them think this table length is infinite. Things like that.”

  “Oh, like Rainbow Mall seems to be a never ending line of shops.” Recognition fell over Scarlet’s delicate features as I nodded.

  “So could Lars make someone see things that aren’t there
? For instance, make someone think they are covered in spiders when they aren’t.”

  Lars shook his head. “There are others that can do that, but my magic focuses on brain waves that perceive space around them and others.”

  “I’m an aeronautics guy, so I would love to discuss that further with you at some point.” Cade took another bite and swallowed before continuing. “Let me think on it tonight, and I might be able to come up with something to help with the whole teamwork issue tomorrow.”

  Scarlet glared at everyone with a deep scowl while I struggled to keep my bleary eyes open. It was too early for us, especially after the late night Lars and I had behind closed doors. Judging by Scarlet’s expression, I’d guess she didn’t get much sleep either. Well, it could just be Scarlet; she generally hated all mornings.

  “Thanks for meeting up so early. I wanted to start as soon as possible since we don’t know when the next attack will be.” Cade began, which put me on instant alert. He was right. As long as Bradley was at large, he could attack again at any moment.

  “The Navy is mostly pretty chill and doesn’t train for combat the way the Army and Marines do. Well, unless you’re a Navy Seal, which I’m not. However, I’ve been on enough Marine bases to see how some of it’s done.” Cade paced before us with his hands clasped behind his back.

  “I want you to work together to fell a tree with your magic. Come up with a plan first that you all agree on and stick to the plan.”

  “No!” I cried. “We don’t hurt nature like that for a training exercise. We respect nature. Even our cars run on vegetable oil. We’re not perfect or all complete hippies, but we do what we can to minimize our impact on the environment since it’s the source of our magic. All magic comes from nature.”

  “Don’t worry, it has a specific and very real purpose, I promise.”

  Reluctantly, I huddled with the others. “I don’t think my fighting skills will help with this, but I can offer support.”

  “Can you do controlled burns or focus them like a laser, Lars?” Charlie asked.

  Lars frowned. “I’ve never tried to make it that precise, but I could try.”

  “Good. I was thinking you could slice through the tree with laser like fire while Scarlet pushes on it with her wind power higher up. Emma and I will stay out of the way.”

  I frowned. “He said we’re supposed to do this as a team. We need to participate.”

  “Our part in this is learning when to stand back and let others do what they need to do.” Charlie responded with crossed arms.

  “I suppose so. It’s just, I have so many limitations and am already at a disadvantage not having a power that physically manifests. It makes me feel useless and like a liability if I can’t be useful at all stages of something.” I sighed.

  “Hey, you think my power comes in handy that often? I can’t go around hypnotizing people all the time, especially around Norms. There isn’t much as much opportunity for me to use it as there is for Scarlet to use her magic, like right now. It’s not like I can make the tree want to fall.”

  He had a point. And I knew I wasn’t useless and had my own skillset. It was just difficult not to feel useless when standing on the sidelines. Or trying to fight my way through the forest.

  “Everyone has a role to play. Yours is to unite people and physically kickass when needed.” Charlie told me. “There is no need to feel inferior. Your abilities are valuable and needed.”

  I had never thought about it like that. I supposed it was true; the Council would do everything in its power to keep me because my Sight was so rare and valuable. In terms of everyday life or even the fight against Bradley, I had no doubt my fighting skills would come in handy. I’d also proven to be strategic and a leader when necessary.

  Charlie was right. I was a force to be reckoned with even without physical manifestation of magic. I should be proud and secure enough in that to stand back when my skillset wasn’t required for a particular job.

  I nodded. “Thanks, Charlie. For both the confidence in me and the kick in the ass I apparently needed.”

  He smiled fondly at me. “Anytime, Emma. Now let’s watch Scarlet and Lars do all the hard work.”

  Cade came over and clapped a hand on each of our shoulders. “Now you guys are getting it. And don’t worry, there will plenty for you to do once that tree comes down. Then you’re going to wish you were back in this spot.”

  A loud crack whipped through the air. “Timber!” Cade yelled since Lars and Scarlet obviously weren’t going to.

  The tall ash tree came down with a thunderous boom and more cracking as branches broke. Dust rose in the air making us cough and shield our eyes until Scarlet blew it away from us.

  “Now carry it down this trail to the river.” Cade commanded.

  “Say what?” Scarlet perched a hand on her cocked hip.

  “Physically carry this down to the water. Use magic to lighten the load if you have to. Each one of you take an end and two spread out in the center.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” My jaw dropped. That tree would be way too heavy for us.

  “I’ll take the very middle. Scarlet, we’re going to need your air cushions on this to help out.” We stood there staring at Cade in shock until he yelled, “Get a move on!”

  Even Scarlet and Lars scrambled to the tree, although, they frowned about it. I think I was too surprised to react another way. We spaced ourselves evenly along the tree with Scarlet and me on the ends.

  Squatting, we strained to lift it, but it was too heavy.

  “We need magic, Scarlet.” I shouted from the bottom of the trunk. She had taken the lightest load at the tree top since she would also have to concentrate on her magic.

  “I’m on it.” She called back. Then the tree suddenly felt lighter, and we easily lifted it onto our shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a heavy burden, but her magic made it easier to handle. We struggled along the long trail until we finally reached the water.

  “We drop it on three.” Cade shouted. “One. Two. Three!”

  We heaved the massive tree from our shoulders and let it fall with a loud bang onto the trail. Sweating and breathing hard, we gathered near the water. Scarlet and I flopped onto the ground while the men tried to maintain a tough appearance by standing.

  “Sorry, I thought the river was closer than it turned out to be.” Cade wiped sweat from his forehead. “Let’s take a short break, maybe Scarlet can cool us down with a breeze or rain or something, and then we’ll get started on the next part.”

  Scarlet glared at him. “I just used a crap ton of magic doing most of the carrying here. I’m not doing shit right now.”

  “I forgot about that. Good job, sexy.” Cade chuckled. “It’s okay. There are other ways to cool off.”

  He whipped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes until he only wore shorts. Scarlet sat up with interest and watched him appreciatively as he sauntered to the river.

  “Stay near the bank. The currents here are really strong.” I called after him, concerned.

  Then I lost all coherent thought as Lars and Charlie stripped and followed Cade into the water.

  “Damn. That is hot.” I breathed.

  Scarlet nodded. “Should we go in too?”

  “I’m not stripping to my bra and panties, and I don’t feel like walking around in wet clothes afterwards.”

  “I could dry us off with magic afterwards, but I’d rather conserve it since I don’t know what Cade has up his sleeve for us to do next.”

  “Good point.” I sighed. “That sure does look refreshing, though.”

  Standing, I strolled to the river’s edge, where I kneeled to splash water on my face and neck. Scarlet soon joined me. We ogled the guys swimming nearby as we wet ourselves down until I splashed Scarlet. She glared at me and splashed me back. Soon we were laughing and drenched. We might as well have gone swimming with the guys.

  Scooting away from the water, Scarlet dried us with a cool breeze. Whe
n we were nearly dry, the guys came out of the water.

  “They can stay wet and glistening.” Scarlet winked at me.

  “Okay, team. Let’s build a bridge.” Cade announced. “I noticed a while back that this seemed like an ideal crossing, especially since there isn’t one for quite a distance in either direction.”

  “Why didn’t we just tip the tree to fall across it and call it good?” Scarlet complained.

  “I was hoping for something a little better than a single log crossing.” Cade shook his head. “Get to it.”

  Grumbling, Scarlet joined the group. “Who put him in charge?”

  “I think you did last night when you listed it as one of his strengths.” I laughed.

  “Crap. I did, didn’t I?” She sighed. “Well, let’s get on with it then. I’m going to be ready for lunch soon.”

  “All we have for tools are fire and air.” Lars pointed out.

  “Do you think you could split it lengthwise down the center?” I asked.

  “I might be able to, but it would take a long time.”

  “What if you just carved a groove? Then I could blow water into it until it filled. I bet freezing the water at that point would split it.” Scarlet said.

  “If we split it down the center, we could push the two halves across side by side with the flat side facing up.” I said.

  “That’s a good idea and would be fairly sturdy. First, we need to get rid of the branches.” Charlie contributed.

  “Charlie, Scarlet, and I could stomp and break off as many as we can while Lars works on the groove.”

  Nodding, we set to work. We were able to get off a significant amount of branches. While Scarlet filled the groove and worked on freezing the water, Lars burned off the last of the branches.

  “I think I’m tapped out now. I can’t use anymore magic. It’s probably useless for the rest of the day.” Lars announced.

  “Luckily, Scarlet can fortify her magic with negative emotions. As long as she can connect to some, she’s like the Energizer Bunny.” I giggled.