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

by Montana Ash

  Dawn felt her pulse accelerate, loving what Knox was saying but not sure whether to believe him or not. She was also not sure how to respond. So she simply said, “Uh, thanks?” before moving on to a new subject. “I am shifting a large amount of things from the infirmary here to the new clinic at HQ. Mainly the computers, as well as all the paper records. Most of the equipment is staying because we are getting all new equipment there. Jasminka is still making her lists of things she says we will need.”

  Dawn had become good friends with the human doctor shortly after she arrived. Jasminka shared a lot of the same traits as Dawn herself did, and they had simply clicked. Jazz had made it her life’s work to help and heal people, offer them support and counselling, as well as hope. In essence, that is what Dawn’s purpose was as well. She had been so excited to learn all about human healing methods from Jasminka, having been barred from such knowledge before. She was responsible for a human domain – a bodily domain – and yet, they were not taught how the body worked. Dawn thought it was absolutely ridiculous and had been pushing for a basic health care system for years. Now that she was on the IDC, she was able to ensure such things happened. And the new clinic at Eden was an exciting start.

  “Heavy lifting then?” Knox smiled happily. “You’ve come to the right place.”

  “Because you are very strong and muscular?” Dawn asked, before she could stop herself. Knox was wearing a simple t-shirt and well-worn jeans. Both were rather tight, accentuating his leanly muscled frame.

  “I was thinking more in terms of my element,” Knox corrected her, a blast of warm wind rushing past her face. “But, hey, I like your version better.”

  Knox’s bright grey and yellow aura shined around him like a halo, Dawn’s special sight catching her by surprise. She had not intended to peek. But Knox was so happy and relaxed, that his aura was simply sparkling. It was lovely, full of warmth and humour, love and respect, as well as telling her Knox was a born leader. She knew nothing about him as a warden before, and nothing about his previous Order, but she could see the great well of power he carried so effortlessly. The man before her was whole and unbroken. “She really did do a wonderful job,” Dawn murmured.

  Knox tilted his head to one side, giving Dawn his full attention once more. “Who?”

  “Max. There is no taint within you at all. I wonder if this is how your aura looked before …” she trailed off, catching herself before she touched him with her hands. She also abruptly realised what she had been saying. Dawn felt herself flush. “And I’m being rude. I apologise.”

  “No,” Knox was quick to say. “It’s totally fine.”

  “I’m just so curious,” Dawn tried to explain. “As a life warden, I find it hard to believe I was ignorant of the infection all this time. How could I have missed the signs? Surely their auras should have warned me.”

  “You can see my aura right now?” Knox asked. “What’s it like?”

  “Shiny,” Dawn promptly replied. “Happy. Healthy.”

  Knox wiped his brow in a teasing manner, “Phew. That’s good to know.”

  Dawn returned his smile, feeling very comfortable in his presence. Peeking at his aura had confirmed something she had already suspected; Knox was a good man. And good men were worth getting to know, she told herself. Piper and Willow chimed in agreeing wholeheartedly with her through the bond.

  “How did chades look to you?” Knox asked presently.

  Dawn frowned a little but answered honestly. “Like blackholes.”

  Knox’s smile was sad, “That is how it felt.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dawn repeated.

  “It was hardly your fault,” Knox pointed out.

  “I’m not to blame, no. But in a way I was still responsible. As were the rest of the wardens. But I feel especially responsible because of my domain. Life – with all it entails – is mine to read and mine to feel. I can manipulate it to a certain degree. But when I looked at a chade I saw nothing but an abyss – a lost cause. I failed to see a sick man. And that fault is most certainly mine.”

  “Dawn, nobody saw a sick man,” Knox said.

  “That doesn’t take away the pain.” Dawn’s voice was resolute. “And thus, doesn’t take away the blame.”

  As the day wore on and Knox worked side by side with Dawn as she sorted what needed to be moved and what needed to stay, he contemplated what he knew of Dawn so far. He hadn’t bothered to argue with her earlier in the day, knowing there was no chance of changing her mind. She clearly held herself to a high set of standards and when she failed to reach them, she beat herself up over it. Society probably had a lot to answer for there. No doubt she had been told from a young age that she was special and nothing less than perfect was acceptable. That she was a life warden first and Dawn second. But he knew it was her personality as well. She was kind and compassionate with a strong moral compass. She was a woman to be admired for sure. And admire her I do, Knox thought to himself. And not just for her amazing body or that spectacular face of hers. No, his feelings for Dawn were much deeper than that. It bothered him a little – being so enamoured of a woman so quickly and he wasn’t sure what to call it.

  ‘It’s called a crush, dad,’ Kellan’s voice could be heard through the Order link loud and clear.

  Knox smiled, mentally agreeing with his son, feeling true joy that they were connected on such a level. Once, he had thought never to see them again. And yet, here they were, bound on a level that surpassed that of parent and offspring. Knox had never been so proud.

  “You’re all aglow. What are you thinking about?”

  Knox returned his attention to Dawn, his eyebrows raised in silent query. He was more than a little smitten when she blushed, ducking her head and releasing a self-deprecative chuckle.

  “And I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Being invasive. I apologise. I am not usually so nosey, I promise you. You’re just …” she trailed off.

  “Easy to read?” Knox volunteered.

  “More like nice to read,” Dawn corrected.

  Knox couldn’t deny how good it felt for Dawn to associate him and nice. But he was curious as to what she meant. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh,” Dawn reached up and began twirling a thin strand of her hair around her finger. “It’s nothing – silly really.”

  “Dawn, nothing you could say would ever be silly to me,” he assured her.

  Dawn searched his face for a moment, as if gauging the truth of his words before turning and looking at her paladins who were hanging out with the triplets. Willow and Piper nodded their heads and waved enthusiastically, causing Dawn to face Knox again. “I’m sorry. I’ve had poor judgement in the past with who I share things with. I sometimes trust my paladins more than I trust myself.”

  “I can understand that. I still doubt myself at times. But my sons are my anchor – I have the utmost respect and faith in them,” Knox revealed.

  Dawn smiled, “Your anchor. I like that.” Then she explained herself; “Every person has a feel to them. Thanks to my element, I can sense that. And because of my empathy, I can feel it too. Some people are hard, some are raw, some people sting, some are easy, some are soft. And some, well, some just make you smile and want to curl up next to them like a cat beside a fireplace.”

  “And I’m like a fireplace?” Knox was loving this.

  Dawn’s smile was shy as she nodded. “Yes. Cosy. Nice. It is so refreshing to meet a nice guy.”

  “Not into the bad boys, huh?” Knox teased, pleased with her estimation of him. Although, he felt a little bad boy wouldn’t go astray either.

  “Bad boys have their merits,” Dawn replied, ever serious and thoughtful with her answers. Then some frown lines appeared, and she cocked her head to the side. “Wait, are you flirting with me?”

  Knox felt Dawn recognising flirty behaviours was a step in the right direction. Although, looking at her smirking paladins, he had to wonder just who had thought of it. “Do you want me to be?” he retorted – totall
y flirting.

  “I … don’t know,” Dawn answered slowly.

  Knox climbed to his feet, commanding the wind to pick up and carry several loaded boxes. He looked back down at Dawn, “Why don’t you think about it and let me know, huh?” He then sauntered out of the room with as much confidence as he could muster. He pointedly ignored the jeers from his sons inside his head telling him to add some sway to his junk-trunk, or flex his arse cheeks for Dawn’s benefit.

  Chapter Five

  One week later, Knox was elbow-deep in dirt and loving it. He hadn’t really thought of himself as having a green thumb in the past, but there was something to be said for digging around in the dirt and planting. Or perhaps it was simply the company he was keeping these days, he mused. A quick glance to his left showed Dawn chatting happily with Celeste as the pair arranged some coloured flowers into a small flower bed. Knox had been spending every other day with Dawn as she continued to oversee the interior construction for the orphanage and the new clinic in HQ. They had successfully set everything up with the end result being a medical infirmary complete with a laboratory and five beds for ill or hurt paladins, chadens or wardens. Knox had heard grumblings from particular wardens believing such a thing was not necessary but Dawn, as well as the rest of the IDC, shrugged it off and continued to educate the naysayers patiently. Well, some of them anyway, Knox allowed. He chuckled when he recalled Max’s words to a group of visiting wardens.

  “Get your heads out of your arses. Wardens may heal quickly with the help of vitality from their paladins, but paladins don’t have that luxury. Besides, don’t you think it will be nice to be able to have somewhere to go and talk about all your repressed emotions and daddy issues? I know a bunch of you bastards have those,” Max scoffed.

  “Something funny?” Dawn asked, smiling at him.

  Knox was struck by her beauty once more, the smudge of dirt on her chin making her even more endearing to him. He wanted to reach out and wipe it away, but he wasn’t sure where he stood with taking such liberties. Instead he smiled, admitting, “Max.”

  Dawn looked over to where Max was kneeling on the ground, somehow covered from head to toe in dirt and arguing with Ryker about lifting a tiny pot. “She is funny, I’ll give you that.”

  The way Dawn said funny had Knox laughing out loud. It was clear she was using the word more in the insane context than the humorous one. “She is. But thank the Goddess for her.”

  “Indeed,” Dawn agreed. “And that is something we can now do as well.”

  Knox followed Dawn’s line of sight, watching as Dana stood with Mordecai, both arms wrapped around the warden’s waist and a serene smile on her face as she watched the proceedings. When Dana’s eyes came to rest on him, she nodded her head at him. Or, to be more accurate, gestured with her head. In Dawn’s direction. Knox scowled at her, shaking his head. Dana widened her eyes and nodded her head back, pointing at Dawn this time. Knox knew of the trickery Dana had used to get Celeste and Axel back together. Apparently, she had the same agenda when it came to him and Dawn. Whilst it was nice to know he had a goddess rooting for him, he thought Dana might just be wrong this time. In the week following his attempt to overtly flirt with Dawn, he had received no definitive signs back. Dawn was her usual happy, chatty, oblivious self and Knox had resigned himself to the friend zone. Something he didn’t oppose at all. The only thing was, he already had lots of female friends, and he wanted more than that with Dawn.

  ‘Then do something about it,’ Dana urged, startling him by speaking in his mind.

  Knox pursed his lips, informing Dana, ‘I already did.’

  ‘Oh, please, you call that trying? Even Ryker did better than that. He said some crap about butterflies and dying – it was really romantic,’ Max chimed in.

  Knox looked at Max only to find her watching him along with Dana. ‘Dead butterflies are romantic?’ he queried.

  ‘You’re missing the point, dad.’

  Kane then joined the conversation, because why not? Knox thought. He was beginning to get a headache. ‘And what is the point?’

  ‘The point is, Dawn may be a little slow on the uptake. But you aren’t. Get flirty with it,’ Kellan urged.

  Knox grumbled to all the voices in his head, doing his best to ignore the suggestions that ranged from dead butterflies to tequila to basketball. ‘Basketball?’ He raised his eyebrows at Kai, who was working in another section of the garden.

  ‘I like basketball,’ came the mild response.

  Before he could respond to that random comment, Dawn reached over and grabbed his wrist. The warm touch startled him, and had sparks shooting through his hand. He looked up only to get caught in Dawn’s hazel eyes.

  “You’re doing it wrong,” Dawn informed him after clearing her throat and releasing him.

  Knox raised his eyebrows, looking down at the hole he had just dug with his small spade. “Wrong? How the hell do you dig a hole wrong?”

  Dawn laughed, “Before I met you, I would have wondered the same. But you’ve just demonstrated it.”

  Knox mock-scowled at her, delighted she was bantering with him. Perhaps he had been premature with his friend zone assessment. He was doing just fine on his own without all the asinine pointers from well-meaning friends and family, he assured himself. “Fine,” he said. “What’s wrong with my mighty hole?” To his dismay, several people around them paused what they were doing and looked at him.

  ‘Mighty hole?’ Max’s question bounced around in his head and he could see her laughing her butt off across the garden. Her paladins asked her if she was okay, clearly not privy to their conversation and thankfully not hearing his comment. Max waved them away.

  “Mighty hole?” Dawn repeated, humour in her eyes. She was clearly holding back laughter as she pointed to it. “Well, that is precisely the problem. It is too mighty. You’re planting pansies, not an oak tree.”

  Knox looked down, realising he had been so distracted by the ingrates in his head that he had dug a hole nearly a full metre deep and almost half as wide as that. Not wanting to look like more of a moron, he hastily said, “Actually, I was thinking we could put a pond in here.”

  “A pond?” Dawn’s face lit up and she smiled wide. “I love that idea! Maybe Blu or Caspian could help with that. What do you think?”

  Knox cleared his throat, begging his dick not to get hard when they were surrounded by all these people. But it was a battle of wills when he had Dawn’s amazing cleavage to contend with. “For sure. That’s exactly what I was thinking. Great minds think alike.”

  ‘Nice save,’ Max said, giving him a thumbs-up.

  “I know we are trying to be inclusive and do things largely without our powers, but I think in this instance, enlisting a water warden would be helpful,” Dawn was saying.

  Knox agreed. He knew less about ponds than he did about gardening. It was true that the earth wardens could have simply coaxed the seeds within the soil to grow, but Knox felt Slate had a good idea when he suggested they involve everyone and do it by hand. There were still a few earth wardens there overseeing the planting – and doing some coaxing – Slate included. But overall, wardens, paladins, and chadens were all getting their hands dirty equally. Knox was beyond content as he looked around the growing garden. Just then, he saw Ryker frown at something on the ground and then pick it up. To Knox’s surprise, he called Slate over, moving away from Max and his Order, and the two bent their heads in what looked to be an intense discussion. “What do you think that is all about?” he nudged Dawn. “I thought Ryker didn’t like Slate.”

  Dawn looked over and squinted at the pair, a smile gracing her face. “Ooohhh,” she said.

  “What? What does that mean? What did you see with your life hoodoo?” he questioned, seriously tempted to use the wind to eavesdrop for him.

  “None of your business. And don’t go enlisting the wind to help you either, Knox,” she reprimanded him.

  Knox tried to look innocent. “How did you know that
was what I was thinking?”

  “Please,” she said, returning to her digging. “You’re an open book.”

  If I’m such an open book, how come you can’t see how much I want you? Knox silently asked. He was gearing up to talk to Dawn again when a familiar cold swept through his body. Jumping to his feet he saw Dex do the same, as well as several other chadens.

  “What is it?” Dawn asked, looking concerned. She was immediately surrounded by her four paladins.

  “I feel something …” Knox answered absently, searching the garden for signs of danger.

  “Dad?” Kai questioned, his sickle out, moving swiftly to his side with his brothers.

  Knox couldn’t see anything but there was no denying his feeling of unease – and recognition. Something was there. Something insidious. Something dangerous. Something sick, Knox thought. “Clear everybody out,” he yelled to anyone and everyone who would listen.

  Ryker was already on the case, hustling Max away with the rest of her paladins. Mordecai tugged a protesting Dana away, and other wardens were swooped up by their paladins. Soon, the only people left in the pretty half-finished garden were Dex, Knox, and the triplets. At least he thought they were – until Dawn spoke.

  “Is it a sick paladin?”

  Knox spun around, “What the hell are you still doing here?” He glared at her knights, “Get her out of here.”

  Dawn crossed her arms over her chest, her paladins not even twitching. “They obey my orders, not yours. And if there is a sick paladin, I will deal with him.”

  Knox scoffed in disbelief. “You will deal with him? You’re a Life Warden, Dawn. Your powers are passive. What are you going to do? Sing him a song? Leave. Now.” Knox wasn’t trying to be a prick; he was simply worried about her. Especially when the feeling of darkness spread across the fresh lawn, a shadow building from the tree line.

  Dawn pursed her lips, looking pissed, but there was also a flash of hurt in her eyes. “Good to know what you really think of me,” she said. “Do I need to remind you that I outrank you? And have you forgotten I have been working with the sick paladins ever since the first case? I am the expert here. Not you.”