by Aspose
Gale winced. She’d never wanted a big wedding, but apparently her mom had other ideas. “Who would we invite? Anyway, his customs are different. In the eyes of his people, we are, but I never said ‘I do’. Does that count? Because I’m not sure.”
Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “I raised you better than that. If there’s a chance you could have a baby, then you’d better be married. We don’t cheat our children, and honey, you deserve better.”
“Thanks, Mom. I think he’d like to have a kid, actually. He’s a good father, but I don’t think I’m ready. You know, busy saving the world,” she joked feebly.
Lisa sniffed. “That’s only going to work so long.” She set aside her spoon. “We want you to be happy.”
“I know,” Gale said softly. “I’m not unhappy. I just need time.”
“I guess that’s fair. Just don’t disappear like that again, all right? You gave us a heart attack.”
Ouch. It was going to take a while before they forgave her for scaring them. “Sorry.” This situation had been hard on all of them, and they were struggling to find a way to rebuild their family. It was hard when so much was built around family gatherings. She wondered if the other former humans felt the same.
Gale felt an idea spark and she sat up straight. “Hey! I wonder if my friends would like to have a gathering. We could do a holiday elemental style. How would you feel about going to Hawaii?”
Nitro must have heard her, for he came to investigate. “What’s this?”
She gave him a quick rundown of her idea and he smiled. “I like it. We could invite my children and Nonna’s family.”
“Ooh,” Gale breathed. She dialed Kira, who squealed.
“That’s perfect!” Kira exclaimed. “Cara could invite her parents. They would have so much to talk about with your mom and dad. We could use my house.” There was a muffled conversation in the background. “Alicia wants to use hers. It’s on the beach, and it’ll be a snap for the guys to open a portal for our parents. I’m so excited! When can we do it?” They threw around dates, and Kira promised to be in touch once they’d consulted the others. “This is going to be so much fun!”
“I like that smile,” Nitro said when Gale excitedly told her parents about the upcoming holiday. They loved the idea of seeing Hawaii without the hassle of a plane, and Nitro assured them the portal would be perfectly safe. Her mom wanted to discuss the menu, which was tricky. She finally suggested her mom not cook for an army, since the guests would bring suitable food. Gale excused them right after, unwilling to get bogged down in depressing stuff.
“You’ll be good for me,” Nitro told Gale as they stepped into the palace. He’d added another room onto the palace with one way glass that gave him the space he needed. It was huge, but kept his claustrophobia at bay. The closets shared a wall with the bed, allowing an excellent view of the throne room, and the décor was muted cloud colors, allowing for a soothing feel.
He drew her into his arms. “We tend to stay with our own kind, but I can see how you’ve bonded with your new friends. You’ll socialize a great deal with them, and maybe I can be more patient as we expand your air elemental circle, too.”
“Maybe?” she drawled. “I admire your commitment to not driving me crazy.”
He smirked. Before he could say anything, the roof caved in. Gale covered her head as debris rained down, pinning her to the floor. Her head felt fuzzy and there was a terrible whine, accompanied by howling wind.
Nitro ripped the piece of roofing off her, revealing open sky above him. He cursed as he saw the jagged piece of glass stuck in her belly. He met her gaze grimly. “I need you to heal this. Do not do anything else but sit here and seal this wound. If you die, I will kill you.”
Gale laughed and regretted it. “Got it,” she gasped, then screamed as he yanked the shard out.
He pressed her hand to the wound. “Keep pressure on it, and don’t stop healing.” He tossed the shard aside as his armor wrapped around him.
Neat trick, Gale thought as she watched a squad of warriors floating toward him. She fought to control her breathing as she franticly worked to stop the pink air leaking from her gut. This was not the time to lose focus.
Nitro bared his teeth and snapped his whip. “Come and get some,” he invited the soldiers.
“Remember your orders,” the captain said. The black haired female assassin who’d attacked Gale before floated behind them, a cloud of spheres hovering around her. Her long black hair was unbound and she still wore the sleek silver dress. The silver wire wound around her legs flared with blue light as she spotted Gale, and she smiled like a maniac.
The battled blurred. Pain and the need to heal her guts kept Gale from following too closely, but she saw the blasts hurled her way deflected by some kind of invisible shield around her. She sent a grateful look at Nitro. He looked…happy…as he slashed his whip through a soldier, cutting him in half. His left hand held a blade, which he used with frightening efficiency. Was he enjoying this?
The female assassin cut off her view. She bared dazzling teeth at Gale. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of there,” she crooned as her spheres attached to the shield and began to boring.
Gale snarled. Her gut had stopped leaking and she didn’t think anything would fall out. She floated from the floor, growling as her body pulled painfully. “I don’t like you,” she declared, and shot a blast of punishing air through the shield.
The woman dodged and shook a finger. “Naughty.” The spheres continued to bore.
Gale closed her eyes in concentration. When they opened, they were pure white. “Try this,” she whispered, mentally seizing the spheres. She loosened the shield and wrapped the entire thing, including the boring spheres, around the woman. There was a shriek, and the woman vaporized into pink mist.
Gale one, enemy zero.
Immediately another shield clamped around her. “I said keep healing,” Nitro’s voice growled in her ear.
“Spoil sport,” Gale grumbled, but focused on her wound. She refused to think about the death happening all around. This was war, and she could process later. Thinking in the middle of a firefight might get her killed.
Nitro’s whip wrapped around the captain and yanked. Nitro grabbed the jerking body as the victim’s eyes turned white. “Who sent you?”
“Oracle,” the man gasped, leaking drool and other fluids. “Wanted b-blood,” he stammered. Nitro grunted and knocked the man on the head, dropping him at his feet. “We’ll talk later,” he promised as his troops finally arrived.
Gale was exhausted by the time the shield dropped and Nitro collected her. She was terribly cold, shaking with it.
He frowned. “Let’s get you to the doctor.” He had a running conversation with his captain as he floated her down the wrecked halls. Gale learned it had been a two pronged attack, the end goal an attempt to gain Nitro’s blood.
“It makes no sense. What would the Oracle want with your blood?” The captain demanded.
Nitro shook his head. “I want to know how they managed to bypass security and plant the bomb.”
Gale tried to listen, but she couldn’t grasp much of the conversation. Was she in shock? If she were still human, that would be her suspicion. “Do elementals go into shock?” she asked, dazed.
Nitro shot her a sharp look. “I’ll talk to you in a moment, captain. Excuse us.” He whisked her into the medical wing and let the doctors pounce.
“I’ll be close,” he assured her, then had a quiet word with her doctor. Nitro squeezed Gale’s hand and stepped out, confident she was in excellent hands. Even so, she caught snatches of his voice from the hall. He was listening to a report about another attack…
Gale grunted as a doctor probed her side, abruptly forgetting to eavesdrop. Whatever it was, he would deal with it.
“Deal with it,” Alicia snarled. “I don’t want to attend your stupid under-the-sea get together. I don’t want to watch that stupid mermaid flirt with you…”
�
��Lady Glass?” Surge demanded. “She’s no threat to you.”
“Hah!” Alicia tossed around the couch cushions in her Hawaiian home, grateful for the private island that kept their arguments away from big ears. She was franticly cleaning her immaculate living room, trying to clear away what was bothering her. “They all flirt with you. Stupid, slutty fish.”
Surge ground his teeth. Reaching for patience, he tried to take her in his arms. “You know I’m faithful. You’re the one I want.”
She ducked out of his arms. “You want a baby! I’m just the poor sap the Fates drowned to become your breeder. You don’t even love me.” She was horrified to find herself shrieking, totally out of control. This was not her. Had the man finally driven her crazy?
His eyes narrowed. Stalking her, he caught her and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Where are you going? Put me down!” she cried, pounding his broad back. She stilled when he swatted her behind, seething with outrage…and arousal.
She had lost her mind.
“We’re going to the sleeping pool, and I’m going to take you until you scream,” Surge promised, slamming through a door. “When I’ve worn you out, then we’ll talk.”
Alicia shivered. When the sea raged, it really put on a show. Lately she couldn’t help prodding him, and God help her, he was about to prod back. “You can’t even say it, can you? It’s called making love, but evidently, not with you.”
He set her on her feet so fast, she got dizzy. “What the hell is the difference?” he snarled, and shut her up with a rough, heated kiss. “Do you think anyone else gets this?” he demanded, pulling up her skirt. He jumped in the pool, wrapping her legs around him and impaling her. “You think I let anyone else get me hard like you? I want you all the bloody time.” He slammed into her, her moans of pleasure giving him intense satisfaction. He drove her hard, rocketing them both over the edge. Only when they were dizzy, panting with release, did he whisper in her ear, “What do you think this is?”
Chapter 6
Gale stared at her parents’ house in horror. Half the roof was torn off, and the front wall was shredded. Furniture and belongings were strewn about as if struck by a tornado.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re fine,” her dad said again, and she couldn’t help hugging him. “Oh, Dad.” She began to steam.
“We’re fine,” her mom repeated fiercely, wiping her own eyes.
“It’s okay. Your man had us covered,” her dad assured her gruffly, hugging her insubstantial self gingerly.
“You should have seen it; Nitro’s soldiers fought like avenging angels. Two of them stood over us as the rest battled the wind. There was a thick mist, like mashed potatoes, then the storm hit…” Her mom’s retelling was garbled, but her angel crush was clear.
“They’re not angels,” Gale mumbled, remembering some very male conversations she’d overheard from Nitro’s soldiers. “But I’m glad they kicked butt.”
“Angels unaware, then.” Her mom wore a stubborn look. It crumpled as she looked around. “What a mess.”
“We need to relocate you,” Gale said, gripping her dad’s arm. “We can take you somewhere safe.” She wasn’t sure where, but she had a vague notion of Nitro opening a portal somewhere where the bad guys couldn’t find them.
“We have a business to run, honey. And cleanup,” her dad said, gesturing to the wreck of a house.
Gale opened her mouth to argue, but Nitro stepped in. “If you’d like to move into your daughter’s apartment over your office temporarily, I will arrange security. We’ll handle cleanup.” He nodded to the wind elementals busily stacking their belongings into neat bundles. “If you’d like, I’ll send an earth elemental architect to you to discuss rebuilding. Your daughter would feel better if you had a home built to withstand these kinds of attacks.”
“You think there will be more?” Gale asked, horrified.
He took her hand. “Your parents are in an unusual position. Humans are rarely involved in our affairs, and they are vulnerable. Don’t worry; I arranged security for them from the first, and we will improve it further. They will be fine.”
She ground her teeth. “I don’t want them in danger at all.”
Her mom glowered. “If it means having our daughter in our lives, we’ll deal with it. You are more important than a house.”
Gale closed her eyes briefly, aware she was steaming again. She had to stop doing that. “Okay, Mom. I love you, too.”
Her mom squeezed her arm, frowning when her hand passed right through. To Gale’s surprise, Nitro put an arm around her mom and hugged her in Gale’s stead, providing the solid contact Gale couldn’t. “Let’s get you settled. I’m sure you’d like a cup of coffee.”
“Or a drink,” her dad muttered, already mourning his garage.
“Gather what you need for the night; I’ll make sure your things don’t get wet until the insurance adjuster gets here. Here come your neighbors.” He nodded as the fog lifted and the neighbors hurried over. The elementals stopped gathering things. “I suppose we’d better leave some of it for the witnesses.” He was annoyed that he’d forgotten that detail.
Oblivious to the watching elementals, the neighbors exclaimed and did their best to comfort her parents. Gale and Nitro withdrew while the humans examined the mess, offering help and shelter.
Gale raked a hand through her hair. “I hate that they’re in danger because of me.”
Nitro gently shook her shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. If anything, it’s my enemies that caused this.”
Gale swallowed. “Thank you for protecting them. If it wasn’t for you…”
“My pleasure. Our home is a mess as well. Would you be more comfortable if we camped near your parents for a few days? I’m already boosting security here.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you mean it? We can set up shelter here? Yes, I’d love that!” She needed to be near them now, for their comfort and hers.
“Of course.” He summoned his captain and issued orders. “We’ll be ready by nightfall.”
She couldn’t help the fierce, heartfelt hug. This was so much better than staying at the North Pole. “Thank you.”
He stroked her hair. “Any time, precious.”
Gale wanted to support her parents, but with so many human hands helping, there was little she could do. Nitro finally persuaded her to take a break and visit Cara.
“You’ll only suffer frustration here,” he counseled. “Cara is a calm, compassionate woman, and she’d be good for you.”
“I’d love to take you there,” Blossom, who had arrived earlier, volunteered. “I’d enjoy meeting her. I know so few earth elementals.”
Gale’s smile was weak, but there. “I married into the wrong family; all of you are extroverts. I feel like the odd one,” she admitted, unaware of what she was saying. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she felt horrible. This had been a terrible scare.
Nitro and Blossom exchanged wide smiles, overjoyed that Gale had acknowledged the family connection. Blossom linked arms with her. “You’re perfect. I’m happy my father found you. Shall we go?” she opened a portal and stepped with Gale into Colorado’s Garden of the Gods.
Gale hadn’t seen the Garden itself the last time she’d been here, and it was fascinating to see the large number of elementals moving among the rock formations, invisible to the human tourists. She understood that they were in a parallel dimension, but wasn’t sure how it worked. It was amazing to see the homes and businesses fashioned out of the unique rock formations, and she took her time walking to Cara’s home, distracted by the alien landscape.
In fact, she had to call Cara’s elemental cell to get directions. Cara was surprised, but happy to have company, and she met them part way. She and Blossom hit it off immediately.
“I’m so sorry,” she sympathized when Gale told her what happened. “Would it help to walk and talk? I always find it soothing.” She guided Cara to a secluded part of the Garden, away from the crowds.
>
“Thank you. I’d forgotten how much a walk can help,” Gale sighed as they slowed in a bolder filled gorge. “Everything’s been so crazy.”
Cara smiled and looked at a boulder. It morphed until it resembled a castle, molding like clay. She waved a hand, blurring the shape to disguise it from human eyes. “Hobbies help. You should try. Wind can shape stone, can’t it?”
Gale looked at Blossom questioningly.
“Certainly,” Blossom answered. She found a rock she liked and concentrated on it. “Remember it’s the sand in the wind stream that cuts and shapes. I can’t change the rock from the inside, but erosion works well.” In less than five minutes she’d made a large flower bud.
“That’s so cool,” Gale said admiringly. “I wonder if I could make something for my dad’s birthday.”
Cara selected a rock as Blossom instructed Gale on the proper technique. Gale was wobbly at best, the sand either not condensing properly or sheering off too much rock.
“You’ll get it. It just takes practice,” Blossom counseled. “You have years to get this right.”
Gale exchanged an ironic look with Cara. They were young elementals and still operated on human time. “Years. My dad will be an old man by then. Maybe if I used something pointy as a focus.” She searched the ground for a stick, but there wasn’t a lot of useful woody debris in the gorge.
Cara studied the sculpture and, after a slight hesitation, handed Gale a knife. “Try this. Others seem to find it useful.” She smiled mysteriously.
Gale admired the beautiful craftsmanship and razor edge. “This is a nice knife. I don’t want to damage it.”
“I trust you,” Cara said, leaning against a boulder. Blossom watched with interest, floating as she supervised the project.
“Well, here goes nothing.” Gale focused on the stone that was to be her father’s birthday present. She sent her power along the knife, directing the jet of windswept sand. To her delight, the sand cut and shaped beautifully. “Wow! Check it out,” she crowed, pleased as the letters took shape. Maybe she should have tried something more challenging. Next time, she decided, admiring the letters. “Not too bad, huh?”
