The Elemental Collective: Volume One: An Elemental Paladins Spin-off Series

by Montana Ash

  Dana shrugged, “He thinks he has it all figured out. Who am I to disabuse him of his assumptions?”

  “As I said; you’re as bad as he is. At least I don’t need to wonder where I got my stubbornness from. It was from both of you. A double whammy,” Max muttered.

  “Poor Ryker,” Dana said, not without amusement. She really did enjoy her son in law very much. And he was definitely easy on the eyes.

  Max laughed. “Yes, poor Ryker. But seriously, mum. You don’t have the best track record for communication with dear old dad. Don’t you think you should try something different this time around? You know, like the truth?”

  “I have never once lied to Mordecai,” Dana said, quickly.

  “No. But you’ve sure left a lot out. Kind of like the night I was conceived,” Max pointed out.

  “I do not regret it,” Dana said, looking into Max’s unique eyes. “I regret a lot of things, including how you were forced to live – the pain, the uncertainty, the fear. But I do not regret you.”

  Max reached out and took Dana’s hand. “Nor should you. I love my life. Truly. My man, my friends, my family, my daughter … what is there to regret? We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. But it’s been worth it.”

  Dana’s head knew Max sincerely believed that, but her heart still had a hard time with it. Mordecai, on the other hand, clearly wasn’t ready to believe it on any level. “There is nothing I can tell him that will make him change his mind,” she said, finally breaking the comfortable silence that had formed.

  “Ah, is that what you’re telling yourself? Just no point? I call bullshit,” Max scoffed in her usual blunt fashion. “The reason you won’t tell him is because you feel guilty about that night – the night I was made – and every damn night after that too. You believe you deserve his censure and his poor moods and his cruel words. A part of you even revels in them because you think that maybe one day it will make you even. But I have a secret for you, mother …”

  Dana swallowed hard as Max trailed off, knowing her daughter’s words were correct in every way. She did feel guilty. She did feel shame. She did deserve everything Mordecai threw at her. As crazy as it sounded, the verbal battering was almost like a healing balm rather than a bruise, and she felt less burdened with every frosty look. “What secret?” she finally asked her daughter.

  “Your guilt will not lessen over time. It will not be chipped away by ignorant taunts or misplaced anger. That’s not how guilt works,” Max said.

  “No?”

  “No,” Max sat up. “The only way to be free of guilt is to let it go.”

  Dana closed her eyes, listening intently but shutting out the face that was a perfect mix of Mordecai and herself. “Let it go?”

  Max nudged Dana’s shoulder. “Yes. Let it go. Voluntarily and consciously. You are the source of your guilt, and so you must be the one to free yourself from it. I happen to know a little about this. It was how I healed Ryker … and Darius … and Dex …” she added. “You need to want to heal. Do you want to heal, mother?”

  Dana sighed, the sound carrying love and pain, pride and frustration in equal measures. “I suppose I do. How did I manage to make such a wonderful, wise woman?”

  “With the help of a wonderful, wise man,” Max responded, leaning down and kissing Dana on the cheek.

  Dana sat up as well, taking Max’s hand in her own. “Thank you. You are right.”

  Max grinned, “I usually am.”

  Dana sputtered out a laugh, “You are incorrigible. You have your father’s arrogance.”

  Max merely winked. “And my mother’s strength. Don’t forget that.”

  Dana turned back to the crackling fire, grateful for the reminder, and resolved to clear the air with the father of her child. She would not tell him everything – she could not. But she could perhaps tell him enough so they could both start letting go of the guilt that was weighing them both down.

  Chapter Four

  Mordecai stood at the edge of Eden and waited for the rest of the newly formed International Domain Council to arrive. They had broken ground on the new headquarters, as well as the new local orphanage just a few days before and they were meeting to discuss what direction to take next. He would have rather had the meeting at the Training Lodge, indoors where there was more cover, but Max had been firm that Eden was going to be the new heart of their society, so they needed to get it beating. And what better way than to start making all the big decisions there? He chuckled a little because of course his daughter was right. Looking around, he could already see the effect the land – with its clean and whole spirit – was having on their people. Chadens, paladins, and wardens alike were working side by side, building and constructing with their bare hands. Together. United. Even before the plague that was the chades, their people had never been so harmonious.

  “I can hardly believe it myself,” Blu commented, catching Mordecai unawares.

  Turning, Mordecai reached out a hand to clasp his good friend’s forearm. “Blu, sorry. I didn’t see you there. How are you?”

  Blu smiled, patting Mordecai on the back and releasing his arm. “I am well, thank you. I seem to feel a little better every time I come here.”

  “I know what you mean,” Mordecai muttered. Given all the death that had occurred on the land, it should by rights be one giant scar – writhing in agony and festering with infection and pain. But his element could find no hint of death whatsoever. It was like no suffering had ever touched the earth here. It was pure.

  “Does that mean things are going well on the home front? How are things with Max?” Blu asked, his eyes darting to Mordecai and a small grin kicking up the corners of his mouth. “How are things with our Great Mother?”

  Mordecai barely refrained from telling the older warden to go fuck himself. The poorly concealed laugh from Blu told Mordecai that his friend had read him accurately anyway. Blu was one of the few who knew Dana was crossing the veil. After some discussion, they had decided to notify the entire IDC. Max didn’t want to start the council with secrets or omitted truths. She had made it clear she wouldn’t see the new council follow in the footsteps of the old one. Mordecai agreed with her entirely. As had Dana, who assured them all she wasn’t there in secret and the people were permitted to know about her. That was all well and good in theory of course, but telling an entire society that their literal god was walking among them was no small feat. And given the huge upheaval it had seen in the past few months, Mordecai wasn’t convinced another doozy like Mother Nature hanging out in his kitchen would be received well. Still, Dawn, Blu, Hyde, and Slate had taken it pretty much in stride when Dana had introduced herself for the first time. In fact, Blu had looked more intrigued than shocked when he had first seen Dana. Something Mordecai had yet to ask him about. And given the other five members of the IDC were making their way over to them – all their paladins dutifully in tow – he figured he wasn’t about to get answers just then either.

  Mordecai greeted all the wardens, well pleased with how the council was taking shape. Dawn and Dex had been a part of their society for a long time and were loyal, intelligent and trustworthy. Although Celeste was young in warden terms, she was powerful, mature and level-headed and he had no doubts she would also prove to be an asset. Looking over at Hyde where the beast warden was conversing quietly with his two paladins, Mordecai snuck a peek at him with his powers, finding no huge scars or wounds in the man’s psyche. He didn’t know the man well at all, and although Max assured them all he was a man of worth, Mordecai was still relieved to see Hyde wasn’t some kind of psycho. Once upon a time, he would never think to use his powers against his own brethren. It was decidedly impolite, as well as distasteful to his own code of ethics. But having your best friend stab you in the back and attempt genocide kind of changed one’s mind.

  Speaking of which, he thought, turning to look at Slate. Slate was standing off to the side, nodding politely at something Dawn was saying to him. Slate had been a member of the loc
al council in the area for years, so he was well versed in the politics, rules, and regulations of their society. Unfortunately, he was also known to be somewhat of an arsehole. Mordecai knew for a fact Slate’s welcome of Max into their world had been less than stellar. It kind of made him want to punch the earth warden in the face. But the man had won the Trials fair and square and he seemed to have turned over a new leaf. War will do that to a man, Mordecai acknowledged. Still, he asked his domain to check Slate out and was unsurprised to find the man in need of lots of healing. But that was no different to many of them – chadens, paladins and wardens alike. For now, he would give Slate the benefit of the doubt.

  “Satisfied?” Max asked, nudging him with her elbow.

  “For now,” Mordecai responded, not bothering to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Well, are we ready to begin?”

  “Almost. We’re just waiting for one more person …” Max trailed off. “Oh, here she is.”

  Mordecai didn’t need to look in the direction Max was smiling to know who was walking up behind him. Not only did the awed gasps give it away, but his whole body reacted as if she was physically caressing him. The Great Mother herself was making an appearance at their meeting.

  ‘Well now, isn’t this going to be interesting?’ Aiden said through the Order link.

  ‘You never did get a chance to apologise, did you?’ Bastien added, unhelpfully.

  ‘This is going to be awkward,’ was Madigan’s two cents.

  ‘Hella awkward,’ Tobias confirmed. ‘But, damn, she looks good, my lord.’

  Mordecai gritted his teeth, ‘Will all of you shut the fuck up?!’ He heard a few snickers but his Order wisely shut their mouths – or their thoughts rather. Turning around, he felt himself begin to sweat, because, yes, she looked damn good. She walked the last few metres toward them and flashed him a tentative smile that went straight to his dick. As such, when he spoke, it was without the aid of blood flow to his brain.

  “What are you doing here?” The sudden silence caused him to cringe internally. He really didn’t intend for that to come out so harshly. Nor so disrespectfully. The woman was just so damn beautiful and he hadn’t been expecting her to be there. On top of that, without having the chance to apologise for his actions three days prior, he felt a distinct disadvantage. Dana had stayed around but had avoided him at all costs. Something he didn’t blame her for in the slightest. And judging by the pinched look on her face he knew he had fucked up again.

  “I asked her here,” Max answered, breaking the extremely awkward silence. “I want her to see what we’re doing here and give us her opinion.”

  “Oh, Max. You do not need my opinion about anything here. It is wonderful. You are all doing a spectacular job. I am so proud of all of you,” Dana said, looking around and making eye contact with every single warden and paladin surrounding them.

  Mordecai saw the way everyone stood a little straighter and how their faces flushed under the praise and focus of Mother Nature herself. It was strange, but he had never felt the urge for that himself. Perhaps because he was too busy being pissed at her to really comprehend that she was indeed a goddess. And before that? Before his anger and disappointment? There had only been lust. Watching as she placed hands on the people around her, smiled and laughed, and made everyone feel at peace and valued, he decided that the anger was dissipating. But the lust? He traced her full breasts, nipped-in rib cage and flared waist with hungry eyes. Oh, the lust was still well and truly there.

  “My lady, you honour us,” Blu was murmuring as he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it like a true gentleman.

  Dana beamed, “The honour is all mine. This place you are all building here, it will be the beating heart of society.”

  “Thanks to Max,” Blu agreed. “Your daughter has wrought such beauty here.”

  “Pfft,” Max responded casually. “The beauty was already here. I simply healed it. And all of us are helping it to reach its true potential.”

  “Yes,” Hyde agreed, the quiet man speaking for the first time without being asked a question first. “It is a true garden of Eden – or so I hear.”

  Dana smiled impishly at the Beast Warden and Mordecai wanted to shave the hairy man bald and rip out his beard. He wondered if the women would find him so appealing then. Laughter, that was poorly masked as a coughing fit from his Order, had him baring his teeth at them.

  “Hyde, it is so lovely to see you again. It is true Max named this place after where she was raised for the first few years in Otherworld. Although I must say, you did a fine job with the national park in Alaska too. It is a true sanctuary for nature and its animals,” Dana praised.

  Hyde smiled, bowing his head a little. “I am glad you think so, my lady.”

  Dana touched his arm lightly before turning to Max. “Anyway, do not let me stop your important meeting. Pretend I am not here.”

  Mordecai nearly choked on his own spit as he turned disbelieving eyes to Dana. “Pretend you’re not here? You’re kidding, right?”

  Dana stiffened once more, casting him a dirty look. “If my presence is so distracting, perhaps I will take myself on a tour of Eden then.”

  Before he could wrestle his big foot out of his mouth, Knox materialised beside him. “Hey. I was hoping to talk to you all about …” he trailed off as he noticed Dana, his grey eyes widening in male appreciation. “Well, hello there. Max, I didn’t know you had a sister,” Knox’s grin was as unrepentant as it was flirtatious. Mordecai wanted to knock his teeth out.

  Dana laughed, the sound literally causing all the birds in the trees to sing. “I am not her sister. I am her mother.”

  Knox laughed, clearly thinking he was being punked. But when no one else laughed with him, he quickly closed his mouth and bent down on one knee. “My lady, I apologise.”

  “You were simply being you,” Dana cut him off, extending a hand to him and helping him to his feet. “And I for one am so very glad you can be you once again. After everything you’ve endured. So very brave, Knox.” Dana stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Perhaps you would like to give me a tour of Eden? Show me what your chadens have accomplished?”

  Knox looked suitably stupefied as Dana hooked her arm through his and led him away. After, that is, casting Mordecai a look that should have flayed the skin from his bones. After scowling in her direction for a few moments, he turned to find multiple glares upon him. “What?” he demanded, feeling like shit and not in the mood to be called out for it.

  “Man, you have it bad!” Ryker walked over to Mordecai and slapped him on the back. “I thought it was just a whole bunch of rage combined with a whole bunch of lust. But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And why are you still touching me?” Mordecai growled, shrugging off Ryker’s hand where it was still resting on his shoulder. “I can make Max fall out of love with you, you know.”

  Ryker snorted, “No, you can’t.”

  “No, you can’t,” Max confirmed. “Besides, I’d worry about my own love life if I were you.”

  “I don’t have a love life. And if I did, it wouldn’t involve Dana,” Mordecai ground out.

  “Why were you such a prick to her then?” Dex questioned.

  Mordecai turned a frosty glare on the healed chade. “She took it the wrong way.”

  “Of course it’s the woman’s fault,” Dawn said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes on him.

  Mordecai was beginning to sweat. ‘What is happening here?’ he asked his Order.

  ‘I believe it’s called having a family, sir,’ Madigan answered, merrily.

  ‘Oh, fuck off,’ was Mordecai’s reply. Out loud he said, “Look, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I just meant it’s impossible to ignore her. I mean, she’s Mother Nature. A goddess walking the Earth. She’s powerful and soulful and –” he quickly shut his mouth before it ran away from him.

  “And she’s beauti
ful and intelligent, and sweet and kind and funny,” Blu filled in. His eyes were twinkling when he continued, “She’s perfect, my friend.”

  “Perfect for what?” Mordecai muttered.

  Blu harrumphed, “If you don’t know the answer to that, it’s no wonder you’re tied up in knots.” He turned his back quickly, addressing the rest of the IDC. “Right, let us move on from our clueless friend here, shall we? Let’s start with the construction and then move on to the formalities of Orders and the local council.”

  Chapter Five

  The next several hours were spent formalising the plans for Eden, for the chadens, for the training lodge, and for the Paladin Trials. Many processes that had been in place for hundreds of years were thrown to the wayside and new protocols and policies were implemented. The chadens, with their special abilities still intact after being made whole, were essentially doing all the building of the structures. It came in very handy to be able to manifest as an element and it meant the construction would take a quarter of the time it would take a regular human. It had been decided that Knox and Dex would continue to act as the ‘officially unofficial’ leaders of the chadens. Nobody wanted to segregate the chadens but they knew they faced unique issues and it made sense to put in place leadership they could relate to. The training lodge would remain as it was – with Max’s Order running it and seeing to the training of the new recruits there. There had been a small amount of arguing from her paladins, especially with a babe on the way. But in the end, Max got her way – naturally. She wanted them to keep their sense of self and for them to have a purpose and also a hand in ensuring the next generation was up to scratch. Mordecai agreed with her. Local councils were to become a mixture of paladins, wardens and chadens, ensuring every member of their society was represented and had a voice. Caspian would be appointed the head member of the local council. It would take time to spread word throughout the world, and Mordecai knew they were going to have to send some of the IDC travelling in the coming months. As for the proposed Paladin Council, that was happening too. They were going to take one paladin from each of the training lodges around the world and appoint them to the PC. The local member for their area was a no brainer and Lark was thrilled to get started on organising the others.