by Quinn Loftis
“I know,” Tara said. “It seems crazy, but I promise we will prove to you we’re not nut cases.”
“All right,” Shelly’s mom said. “Open mind, we said we’d try.”
“So, just as there are dark elementals, there are also light elementals,” Tara continued. “They are fighting against the dark elementals to keep them from taking over. They have humans who become supernatural as well, and they’re called elementalists. That’s what I am, as is Ra and Elias.”
She continued to explain to Shelly’s parents about the academies, and Elias occasionally filled in places where Tara needed help. Ra was silent through the whole thing, and Shelly could feel his eyes on her. She could also sense his need to be near her through the soul bond they shared. She wanted to go to him, to reassure him she was okay, but she needed to be near her parents as well.
“Are you an elementalist?” Shelly’s dad asked her, bringing her attention back to them and away from Ra.
“I am now,” she said, “but I wasn’t when I was taken.”
“Taken by who?” her mom asked, and it was the mama bear voice Shelly had heard many times over the years when she had been hurt by the evil bitches at school and had bawled her eyes out.
“One of the acolytes took me in order to try and control Tara because he was obsessed with her,” Shelly answered.
“Did he hurt you?” her dad asked.
Shelly bit her lip as she considered how much to tell her parents. How much did they need to know?
“That’s difficult to answer because the answer is crazy. Like, seriously bizarre.”
“Stranger than what has already been told to us?” her mom asked.
“Yes, definitely,” Shelly said. Her voice shook as she remembered the pain she’d endured when she’d thought she had been burning alive. The flames were once again licking at her skin, and she heard herself gasp. Shelly tried to take a breath, but her lungs seemed to have stopped working.
“Shh, you’re not there any longer, Mery.” Ra’s voice whispered in her ear as he sat down next to her. She felt his arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her tightly to his side. The warmth from his body yanked her from the painful memory, and Shelly found herself staring up into the face of the man who’d gone to hell to save her.
His other hand cupped her face, and his thumb stroked across her cheek. “You’re with me, always,” he reassured her.
“I am,” she agreed. The clearing of a throat broke the spell that Ra’s nearness had cast over her. She looked back at her parents and then to Mrs. Carol and felt the blush heat her cheeks. “Wow, this is awkward,” she muttered under her breath. “Okay, so the battle that Tara mentioned…”
“At Terra Academy,” her dad confirmed.
“That’s the one,” Shelly nodded. “Well, he took me there, and then when things went to hell in a handbasket, he tossed me to another dude who then threw me into a portal that led to hell.”
“I’m sorry. What? Hell? You went to hell?” Shelly’s mom gasped.
“In the supernatural community it’s called the underworld, but yeah, it’s hell. And yes, it’s hot. Like soul-burning hot. I wasn’t actually hurt, like, there wasn’t any damage, but I felt as if I was burning alive. In fact, I was convinced our house had caught fire while we were sleeping, and I was trapped inside. But then I was like, why the crap am I not dying?” Shelly shivered as the memories still assaulted her. “I mean, you can only burn alive for so long before you’re burning unalive, right?”
She paused and realized her parents had gone deathly still. “Y'all okay?”
“Hell?” her dad whispered. His eyes were filled with horror as he stared at her, his voice filled with pain.
“The good news is Ra”—she pointed at the man next to her as if they needed clarification—“rescued me. He’s awesome. Like, badass, kicks-butts-and-takes-names kind of awesome. I mean, take the most awesome hero you can think of and multiply it times a hundred. He’s that. He’s—”
Tara interrupted. “Shelly, hun, I think they’ve got it.”
Shelly snapped her trap shut, realizing she’d been running off at the mouth. There was something nudging her mind, and she realized it was Ra. She still didn’t really understand how the bond worked, but right then, she could feel his humor in her.
“He went to hell and brought you back?” her dad asked, narrowing his eyes.
“He did,” Shelly said. “There’s a little more to the whole rescuing story, but it’s really not necessary to go into every detail at this point. It won’t help you accept all this. Mostly, what you need to know is that I’m okay.”
“You went to hell, you were burning alive, and all we need to know is that you are okay?” her mom asked in what Shelly had come to know as the ‘crazy’ voice.
Shelly sighed “When you put it like that it sounds whacked.”
Suddenly her mom was on her feet. “Because it is whacked,” she yelled. “We thought you had been abducted!”
“I was.”
“We thought some crazy person had taken you and was doing god-knows-what to you.”
“He had, and he was. Osiris counts as a crazy person if that makes you feel a bit better. You weren’t totally off base,” Shelly replied.
“Who the hell is Osiris?” Her mom practically wailed.
“Oh, snap,” Shelly muttered. “If she’s cursing in the presence of people she doesn’t know, shit’s about to hit the fan. We should abort the mission.”
“Osiris is the lord of the underworld,” Ra said calmly. He didn’t seem the least bit fazed that Shelly’s mom was quickly unraveling and might go nuclear at any moment. “To humans, he is the devil, Satan, or Lucifer, if you’d like.”
“You met the devil?” Mrs. Carol asked.
Shelly nodded at her. “But it wasn’t really as big of a deal as one might think. He wasn’t half as bad as the evil bitches I went to school with. Really, he was closer to a fluffy bunny with fangs.”
Ra’s head turned slowly to look at her, and Shelly could feel his displeasure at her description of the underworld god. “Any other descriptions you’d like to add, Mery?”
“Nope,” she said, popping the P. “I think that about covers it. Thanks for asking though.”
He made a grunting sound that Shelly was sure wasn’t a positive response. She’d have to settle his hackles later. At the moment, her attention was focused on her mom, who was beginning to look a little less like her mom and more like a mental patient in a psych hospital.
“Mom?” she asked gently. “How are you holding up?”
Her mom looked at her dad and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Our daughter went to hell and met the devil.”
Her dad nodded, and, to Shelly’s surprise, responded simply, “She did, and she’s here with us now, looking rather healthy. Perhaps, we should focus on that.”
Ten points to daddy-o, Shelly thought with a smile. Her dad had always been the glass-is-half-full kind of guy, and while in the past that had often gotten on Shelly’s last nerve, she was very grateful for it at that moment.
He held out a hand for his wife, and when she took it, he pulled her down onto the love seat next to him. “This is a lot, Shelly,” he said, “but you’ve never been a liar.”
Shelly quirked her brow at him.
He gave her a small smile and added, “An exaggerator? Absolutely, but not a liar. If you tell us that this is what happened to you, then I guess we believe you.”
Shelly bit back the tears threatening to fall again. She was done crying. It was one of her least favorite things to do, and she avoided it at all cost. “Thank you, Dad.”
Shelly looked over at Mrs. Carol. She wasn’t really sure what she expected. Carol had always proven herself to be a rational, reasonable woman. She was blunt but kind and didn’t tell you something just because it was what you wanted to hear.
Tara’s foster mom shifted in the recliner she was seated in, crossed her right leg over her left, then rested her el
bow on it as she leaned forward. She looked around the room, seeming to study each of the people present, and finally ended on Tara. “How are you doing?”
Okay, that had not been what she was expecting. Shelly had at least thought Carol would tell them all they were off their rockers or ask if this was just a late April Fools’ joke. “I’m okay,” Tara said. It sounded like a question as if she wasn’t sure.
“Are you hurt?” Carol asked.
Tara shook her head.
“And you’re okay?” she asked Shelly.
“Yes, ma’am. Better than good,” she answered honestly.
“And is everyone here telling the truth?”
“Yes,” Tara said. “I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this.”
Carol nodded. “I know you wouldn’t, and because of that, I believe you. Even though it is hard to do so.” She glanced at Aviur and narrowed her eyes. “I also believe you because there is no way this one is human.”
Aviur smirked. “Why do you think that, dear lady?”
“Because humans aren’t so perfect in their looks. They may be beautiful or handsome but not perfect.”
“I am flattered,” he said.
Carol laughed. “No, you’re not. You know how appealing your looks are. You don’t need anyone to tell you.”
Shelly watched the interaction between the fire king and Carol and hoped Aviur didn’t get offended. Would he smite her? Could he smite her? Was that a fire-elemental thing or just a lord-of-the-underworld thing?
Tara looked at Shelly, and the question in her eyes made it clear she was thinking the exact same thing. Sometimes Shelly swore they had the same brain. She shook her head, trying to get Tara to understand she didn’t want her to ask the question Shelly was sure was coming. If they shared one brain, surely she’d understand.
“Can the lord of the underworld smite someone?” Tara asked.
There goes the one brain theory. Shelly’s lips pursed. “I’ve got an already irritated mate over the mere mention of that man’s name, and you ask me something about him in front of Ra?”
Tara nodded slowly. “Um, yeah, I can see how that might not improve your situation, but I’m curious, and you’ve got experience with the devil.” Ra growled, and she glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Experience?” Shelly said as she shook her head and pressed her hand over her face. “That’s the word you had to use?”
“Okay, maybe that was a poor choice of description,” Tara admitted.
“I know nothing,” Shelly finally said as she cut her hand through the air like a blade. “I don’t know who you're talking about. Lord of the underworld who? I’ve never met the dude. If I had, he would be dead to me.” She paused and then laughed. “Dead to me. Get it? Because he’s in hell.”
“You were doing good until that comment,” Tara muttered.
“Damn,” Shelly huffed. “I swear my humor gets me in more trouble.”
“This is just getting weirder and weirder,” Shelly’s mom muttered. “Okay, for the sake of humoring those of us that are not quite as magnanimous as your father,” her mom said, “you said you could give us proof. What kind of proof?”
“I believe that means you’re up,” Shelly said as she looked at Ra.
Chapter 7
His intense eyes met hers. “What would you have me do, Mery?”
Shelly’s eyes widened at the suggestive tone in his voice. I’d have you not be doing that whole sexy, deep voice that makes me want to strip you down in my parent’s living room. Wow, I need to rein in my hormones. “You know, the fire stuff,” she said weakly. He’s looking at me like he wants to light my fire and not his own. HA! That almost made me laugh out loud. Light my fire, get it? Yes, it was lame. Lame is my go-to maneuver when I’m trying to keep my crap together.
“You want me to heat some food for them?” he asked.
Shelly smacked his chest. “You’re being intentionally obtuse.”
His lips twitched a little as if he was going to smile. “I would never be intentionally obtuse with you, beloved. "
“Oi.” Elias’s voice came from behind them. “In case you two have forgotten, her parents are literally sitting a foot away. Could you refrain from verbal foreplay, please?”
“Excellent point,” Shelly said as she kept her eyes on Ra. She knew if she looked at her parents she was going to need to dig a hole to crawl into.
Ra finally decided to cut her some slack, but not before he said, “There will be payback for the bunny with fangs comment, Mery.” Before she could respond, he held up his hand and a flame suddenly appeared. He said some words in the language that Shelly recognized as his ancestors’ native tongue, and the flame formed into the shape of a man. Then another flame appeared, and it took the shape of a… Shelly tilted her head to the side and frowned.
“Is that a rabbit?”
Ra didn’t respond as he continued to manipulate the fire. A flaming sword appeared in the man's hand, the rabbit rose up on its hind legs, and its mouth dropped open, revealing burning fangs. The sword-wielding man twirled in a circle, bringing his blade around with him, and sliced the fire rabbit’s head off.
Shelly released the breath she’d been holding. “Damn, dude, you really didn’t like me saying that about O, did you?”
“No nicknames, either,” Ra said as he closed his fist, and the flames were gone. His words weren’t harsh, but there was definitely that usual ring of authority in them. “Nicknames are for mates, not underworld lords who want to trap your soul.”
“And he doesn’t mean mates in the British sense,” Elias added.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Shelly said dryly.
Shelly heard a throat clear. She leaned closer to Ra and whispered, “We’re going to talk about this later, mister.”
His eyes roamed over her face, and he gave her a single nod. “As you wish, mate.”
Shelly shook her head. His words might have sounded as if he was giving her some sort of concession, but she could feel his irritation through their bond. When he said, “as you wish,” what he was really saying was “damn straight we are, and your ass is getting paddled.” Okay, so maybe that last part was just Shelly’s twisted fantasy. No judgment, people.
“Was that real fire?” Shelly’s mom asked, forcing Shelly to leave her fantasy and get back to the task at hand. “It could really burn something?”
“Yes,” Ra said. He pointed to a vase of flowers on the end table. “May I?”
Her parents nodded.
Ra took one of the flowers and held it by the stem. Flames immediately covered the base and quickly moved up until the entire flower was burning. Within seconds it was just a small pile of ash in Ra’s palm.
“Why doesn’t it burn you?” Shelly’s dad asked.
“Fire is the element that I have been given the power to wield. It doesn’t hurt me because it is a part of me,” Ra explained.
“I have it, too,” Shelly said as she raised her hand like a freaking kindergartner. “But I don’t know how to do anything with it yet.”
Her parents’ eyes widened. “You can hold fire?”
She glanced at Aviur, and he gave her a nod. “Yep,” Shelly answered.
Her parents didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. They sat there staring at her and periodically looking around the room at the others. Carol was still looking as cool as a cucumber. The chick had nerves of steel. After a few awkward minutes, Aviur spoke up.
“I realize I’ve been quiet most of this time, but I wanted to give Shelly and Tara time to explain as much as they could in their own words. I suspect you’re more likely to believe them than you are a complete stranger. But I feel now it is perhaps time for me to step in.”
Ra stood up and took Shelly’s hand, pulling her with him. “Let’s give him some room,” he murmured as he led her to the side of the living room. Elias did the same with Tara.
“Shelly introduced me earlier as Aviur, and that is my name. But I also adde
d my title, and that is really the important part of our introduction. As I said, I am the light elemental fire king. My mate, the fire queen Agni, and I rule the fire elementals. There are three other royal couples—wind, earth, and water—that share the responsibility of ruling among their own elemental realm.
“While there is much I could tell you about the supernatural world, there really isn’t time for that. We have lingered much longer than we should have. I brought the girls here so you would know they are safe and alive. But they cannot stay.”
Shelly’s parents were on their feet in the blink of an eye. “What the hell do you mean she can’t stay?” her dad growled. “This is her home. Of course, she is going to stay here with us.”
“Now I’m concerned,” Carol said as she too stood.
Shelly felt Ra tense beside her, and she wrapped her hand around his bicep. This seemed to calm him, or maybe that was simply in her head because she just really wanted to calm him.
To Shelly’s surprise, her mom’s response was less severe than her dad's. “Why can’t she stay?”
“I second that question,” Tara’s foster mom added.
“Your daughters are needed. Have you noticed the drastic drop in temperature recently?” Aviur asked them.
They all nodded.
“That was caused because the dark and light elementals are going to war.”
Shelly’s mom frowned. “I just thought we were doing a better job at recycling.”
Tara snorted and Shelly couldn’t help but grin.
Aviur shook his head. “This has nothing to do with global warming. A supernatural war is taking place, and we are trying to keep the humans safe.”
“All the more reason Shelly needs to be here, where we can keep her safe,” her dad said, his voice just as stern as it had been a moment ago.
“I keep Shelly safe,” Ra said. His voice wasn’t loud, but the power behind it rippled through the room like the electricity in a lightning storm.
“Ra,” Shelly said softly.
Shelly’s dad turned his attention fully to Ra and narrowed his eyes.
