Cleansed by Water: The Nature Hunters Academy Series, Book 3

by Quinn Loftis

  “We are going to give you time to gather any necessities you may need,” Terrick said. “I would highly recommend a heavy coat and your cell phones so that contacting each other will be easy. Conjuring portals simply for the sake of passing information will take too much attention away from your tasks.” He glanced around the room and asked, “Are there any questions?”

  When no one spoke up, Aviur said, “Shelly and Ra, I would like to speak with you privately in fifteen minutes. I will meet you on the training field.”

  “Everyone else will meet there in a half hours’ time,” Terrick added. “From there you will leave for your designated destinations.”

  Chapter 4

  Murmurs moved across the room as the meeting broke up. Gabby forced herself not to bolt from the room. She needed a few minutes—or fifty—to gather her thoughts and mentally prepare to be in Liam’s presence. And she couldn’t let her face betray those thoughts. Otherwise, someone might ask her what was wrong. Then there would be stabbing … and possibly burning. No one wanted that.

  She felt a hand take hers and glanced down, following the arm up until it attached to Shelly. This was the second time the girl grabbed her without asking permission. The chick had serious boundary issues. Not that Gabby would ever actually give permission for anyone to touch her.

  “We need to have a BFFF meeting before we are portalled off around the globe,” Shelly said before she reached out and grabbed Tara’s hand as well and began dragging them from the room.

  “Is she always this bossy?” Gabby asked Tara.

  “Always.”

  Out in the hall, Shelly pulled them to a stop and released them before retrieving her cell phone from her back pocket. “Gabby, we need your contact info,” she said, her no nonsense tone indicating she expected to be given the required information immediately and without objection. “I expect you both to check in with me on a daily … no, hourly basis. If you need to be rescued at any point, I happen to know a damn fine Egyptian king who can literally go to hell and back to rescue a damsel in distress.”

  “Um, what are we? Chopped troll guts?” Liam’s voice echoed in the hall, and the heads of all three girls whipped in their direction.

  Gabby had been yanked into the hall so quickly and unceremoniously, she hadn’t even noticed Elias, Liam, Ra, and Aston had followed them. The guys seemed to be an extension of Tara and Shelly, like annoying shadows, always where you didn't see them. I may have to keep my distance from these two chicks when we aren’t out saving the world. Which is going to be a little difficult if the skinny one doesn’t quit latching onto me and forcing me to follow her around like a freaking puppy. Which should make me happy because it makes me feel included, but I don’t WANT to feel included with you people and … ARGH!

  Gabby clamped down her internal rant to listen to Shelly’s response. “I have no idea if you are capable of saving anyone,” the girl told Liam as she continued to tap on her phone screen. “But I know exactly what Ra is capable of. Therefore, I will bet my money on him.”

  “Do you have so little faith in our ability to take care of our girls?” Elias asked, gesturing to himself and Liam.

  A lightning bolt shot through Gabby’s stomach at Elias’s words, but she chewed on her tongue and furrowed her brow to ensure her internal reaction didn’t show. After a moment, she spoke in a hiss. “Who are you including in that collective girls statement? And to which male do you think I belong? Who might take care of me?”

  “Totally talking about you and me, babe,” Liam said. He motioned with his finger between them.

  She slowly cocked her head in his direction. Gabby hadn’t realized how close he stood to her. She tried to give him her most disdainful look and shuffled sideways at the same time. She wasn’t as successful as she’d hoped, as the punk simply moved with her. Again, the annoying shadow. “I don’t need anyone rescuing me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Of that, I have no doubt,” he said with a grin. “But I might need a little rescuing, probably of the mouth-to-mouth variety.”

  Tara sighed. “I can’t speak for every female out there, but from the little I know of Gabby, I’m pretty sure comments like that aren’t going to help your case. In fact, they'll probably just get you injured.”

  “As long as she’s touching my body, I don’t care what she does to it,” he said.

  “Damn, he’s got it bad,” Shelly said. “Pipe down, Liam. This is important. You can be pathetic later. Gabby, digits,” she commanded and pointed at her phone.

  The stern order caused Gabby to rattle off her number like a well-trained soldier. Jeez, what is it about the strongheaded blonde that makes me just fall in line? Movement beside her caught Gabby’s attention. She saw Liam tapping the numbers quickly into his phone.

  “Dammit.”

  “Aston would have been able to get it for me anyway,” said Liam. “And don’t act like you didn’t want me to have it. I mean, pretending to give it to Shelly just so I could overhear it? Clever, but you’re not fooling anyone.”

  Gabby clenched her fists and felt them growing warm. She clamped down on the sensation. She wanted to burn the guy, she really did. But she couldn’t deny she wanted to burn him other ways as well. And she knew Headmistress Iterra probably wouldn’t appreciate one of her students getting torched in the hallway.

  “I’ll probably be getting it changed soon,” she finally said. That’s not a bad idea. I could get it changed frequently so the genius of their foursome couldn’t keep up. She glanced at Aston and saw the intelligence gleaming in his eyes. “Probably not,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Mery,” Ra said as he moved closer to Shelly, his chest practically touching hers. He leaned close to her ear, but Gabby could still hear his words. “We need to get coats and probably add some layers to the clothing you are wearing now. Not to mention, we need to meet with King Aviur very soon. Perhaps we should take our leave?”

  Gabby’s stomach tightened at how attentive and gentle he was with Shelly. He appeared to be stoic and harsh, but when he looked at the woman he so obviously loved—because no man looked at a woman like that without loving her—his countenance softened completely.

  “I think so,” Shelly said, her own voice also softening as she turned to face Gabby and Tara. In a blink her switch flipped back to bossy bitch mode. “I’m completely serious when I say I want updates. Do not make me hunt you down.”

  Tara rolled her eyes. “I think facing off with the lord of the underworld has made you even bossier, if that is even possible.”

  Shelly snorted. “Let me see you take on the devil and not come out feeling like Betty Badass.”

  “She’s got a point,” Gabby agreed.

  “I need your help on this one, Gabby,” Tara said as she narrowed her eyes. “Shelly’s already got a superiority complex.”

  “You’re right. I’ve got your back,” Gabby said with a small smile, completely dumbfounded she was acting as if she was one of their crew. “We can’t let her get too big for her britches. Then we’d have to kick her bossy butt, and her Egyptian king might retaliate.”

  “If you wind up doing that, could you make sure to be in bikinis and in a mud pit?” Liam asked.

  Before anyone had a chance to so much as chuckle, Ra spoke in a menacing voice. “The demon ichor on my blades has long dried. My swords are hungry for fresh blood, brother.”

  Gabby took an involuntary step back.

  “See?” Shelly pointed at her mate. “Told you he was a badass.”

  Gabby’s eyebrows raised when Liam didn’t laugh the Egyptian off. “I’m itching for a good fight, pharaoh,” Liam said in a voice Gabby had not heard from him before. The usual playfulness was completely gone, replaced with ice. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a worthy opponent.”

  “Now you’re pissing me off,” Elias growled. “Do I have to show you once again just how worthy I am?”

  “And on that note,” Tara said, “I think we need to a
ll retreat to our separate corners and gather what we need.”

  “Agreed,” Aston said, speaking up for the first time.

  The door to Headmaster Terrick’s office opened, and Professor Frost walked out. She smiled at them as she walked over.

  “Ra, Shelly, and Gabby,” she said, “I’m headed back to Crimson Academy if you’re ready.”

  “Yes, professor,” Ra said, not giving his mate time to say something different.

  Frost opened a portal and nodded at the others. “We will see you all on the training field,” she said and then stepped through.

  Shelly gave Tara a hug and, once again, grabbed Gabby’s hand and tugged her along.

  Gabby glanced at Tara. “We’re going to have to do something about this.” She lifted the joined hands. “It’s annoying as hell.”

  “Nothing is as annoying as hell is. Believe me, I know.” Shelly tossed her hair over her shoulder and started to pull Gabby through the portal but paused at the sound of Tara’s voice. “Hang in there, Gabs,” Tara said. “I promise her annoying tendencies are eventually outweighed by her loyalty as a friend.”

  Gabby nodded and dropped her eyes to the ground. She’d never had a nickname, at least not one worth having. Her parents had called her many names, but few of them had been endearing.

  “See you soon, babe,” Liam called out.

  Gabby didn’t acknowledge him as she and Shelly crossed through. She’d decided it was best not to give him a reaction. It pleased him entirely too much.

  Once Gabby, Ra, and Shelly were back at Crimson Academy, Gabby noticed that professor Frost was already walking down the corridor. She’d opened the portal on the floor of the dormitories, which meant she’d have to go downstairs to get to the quarters of the professors. As usual, the professor was thinking of her students before herself. That was why Frost would always have Gabby’s loyalty, but even with that, Gabby held back her affection for the woman.

  “We’ll see you in a few,” Shelly said as she released Gabby’s hand.

  “Sure,” Gabby replied before starting off in the direction of her room. It was located across the corridor on the girls’ side.

  “Hey, Gabby.” Shelly’s voice, having taken a serious tone, caused Gabby to turn to face the blonde drill sergeant. “You remind me of Tara when I first met her a long time ago in a park in my hometown,” Shelly said. “She was broken, too. Perhaps for different reasons than why you are broken, but you have the same pain lurking in your eyes that I sometimes still see in hers.” Shelly paused and stared intently at her.

  Gabby was frozen. She couldn’t even look away from the girl who dared to look past the wall Gabby had placed between herself and the rest of the world. How had Shelly seen past it in the first place? Had being around the two girls for a short amount of time already worn down Gabby’s defenses that much? And now what the hell was she going to say? How could she respond to such frankness without either telling Shelly to go jump off a cliff or begging her to be her friend and not abuse her the way her parents had done her whole life?

  “I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Tara, and yes, I remember it verbatim. I wrote it down afterward because it was so awesome. Also, I realize I am not humble, and I don’t give a crap.”

  A smile almost formed on Gabby’s lips. How could anyone not smile at that?

  “I know that you are already attempting to push Tara and me away. Okay, so this isn’t completely verbatim. I’m adding some stuff because it’s obvious that your reasons are different from Tara’s reasons. Nonetheless, you don’t want us close. That’s just too damn bad. It won’t work. Once I decide I want someone to be my friend, then it’s going to happen. You should just accept the situation. It will make life easier for all of us.”

  Gabby waited for her to say more, but Shelly simply stood there, staring her down as though challenging her to contradict anything she’d said. For some reason, that challenge seemed to unfreeze Gabby’s tongue. “How could you possibly know anything about me? You just met me.”

  “I’m damn good at reading people.”

  “Well, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m not broken. I’m not in need of rescuing, and I don’t need some girl-tribe to take me in like a lost puppy.” Gabby’s words were not gentle. They were practically spat toward the girl who dared to bare Gabby’s soul, in front of her mate, no less. She looked at Ra, who was simply standing beside Shelly, gazing at Gabby with tenderness. She hated it. “Maybe you should leash your woman.”

  Ra shook his head as he ran his hand down the back of Shelly’s hair. It was an intimate, loving gesture that Gabby so desperately wanted from a man who looked at her the way Ra looked at his mate. “She isn’t in need of a leash. But you are in need of friends. She is not the only one who can see that.”

  Chapter 5

  Jax waited until everyone had left Terrick’s office except the royals and headmasters. He stepped into the middle of the room. “Zuri and I need to speak with you all,” he announced.

  “Why do I get the feeling that we aren’t going to like what you have to tell us?” Nasima asked as she crossed her arms in front of her. The air around her began to swirl, and her long, flowing dress blew about as if it was giving a visual cue to the air queen's mood.

  “Because you won’t,” Zuri replied. “We’ve been approached by someone in need of … aid.

  “Okay, are you going to tell us, or are you going to make us guess?” asked Kairi.

  Zuri gave a mirthless laugh. “I could give you a million guesses, and you’d never get it.”

  “Forgive me if I do not share in your obvious amusement,” Nasima replied dryly.

  Jax placed a hand on Zuri’s shoulder. “She means no disrespect,” he said. “She is still in shock over the absurdity of the request that was laid before us yesterday evening.”

  “He is right,” Zuri agreed. “I apologize. I realize you are already dealing with a lot, and this is definitely not something you need added to your plates. But it is unavoidable.”

  “Please, tell us,” Aviur said, his eyes filled with flames and his body tense.

  “Osiris came to Terra Academy last night,” Jax said. His eyes darted to Terrick. “I did not alert you at the time because he came in peace. It was clear he was not a threat, and he only came to request an audience with the royals. Zuri and I felt like you and Iterra deserved a night of rest, or at least one where nothing was added to the list of problems we already have.”

  Terrick didn’t appear angry, but his words were clipped as he responded. “While I appreciate that, in the future when someone as dangerous as the lord of the underworld enters our grounds, I expect to be notified immediately.”

  Jax bowed his head. “Of course. I apologize.”

  “He requested a meeting with us?” Kairi asked.

  Jax nodded. “It seems he has a dilemma that requires your assistance.”

  “Why on earth would Osiris need our help?” Nasima asked. Her eyes were wide, and she’d dropped her arms, her hands opening and closing at her sides.

  “Apparently, he has an out of control demon,” Zuri answered.

  “The inhabitants of his realm are under his power. I don’t see why he would require our aid,” Marcus, the Hydro Academy headmaster asked.

  Jax glanced around the room for the first time since he’d made his announcement. Every single headmaster and headmistress had the same look on their faces. Suspicion filled their eyes, and their lips were drawn tight across their faces. A couple of them were even shaking their heads as if there was no way they’d believe that the lord of the underworld would come to them for help.

  “He didn’t explain any more than that,” Jax answered. “He said he would be back in two days' time. I expect that means he will show up tomorrow at dusk. He didn’t specify where, but I assume he meant at the same location as yesterday.”

  “Which was where, exactly?” Terrick asked.

  “At the base of the mountain, about fifty yards from the
front doors. He didn’t appear to be able to see past the wards,” said Jax.

  “He also made it clear he would not be happy if he showed up and there were no royals waiting for him,” Zuri added.

  “I don’t respond well to threats,” growled Nasima. The swirling of air around her seemed to intensify.

  Aviur sighed. “Peace, Nasima. The last thing we need is to add a battle with the lord of the underworld to our already busy schedule. I think it would be in our best interest to give him an audience.”

  “I concur,” Kairi said.

  “Fine,” Nasima said.

  “I’ll post warriors in the forest in case Osiris tries anything,” Terrick said.

  Nasima shook her head. “That won’t be necessary, Headmaster. We can direct the elementals surrounding Terra Academy to be on alert.”

  “Is that all?” Aviur asked Jax.

  “I believe that is enough,” he said.

  The fire king nodded. “I will have to agree with that assessment.”

  Jax glanced at Zuri. Her face was grim, and she seemed to have gotten over the humor she’d found from Osiris’s need for assistance. After seeing the reaction from the royals—the tired looks in their eyes, and the resolve that they had no other choice than to add yet another burden to their responsibilities—he couldn’t find the humor in the situation either.

  Gabby tried not to slam things around in her haste to gather up warmer clothing and a few more weapons. But her emotions were running high after Shelly’s impromptu intervention. Gabby had to admit the chick had a pair of lady balls the size of the pyramids in her man’s home country, and she wasn’t afraid to hang them out there.