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

by Quinn Loftis

  “Did they buy that?” Shelly asked. “The government part?”

  Frost shrugged. “They’re desperate. I think they would buy just about anything at the moment if it means there is a chance that this plant will keep working. But again, pixies. They’re not just for dust.”

  Shelly snorted. “Pixie dust, get it?” She shook her head as she glanced at Tara. Tara smiled back. Professor Frost was proving to be quite hilarious.

  “The others have already begun spreading out around the area. It’s a huge amount of space to cover,” Frost said. “There are eight fire elementalists, and we’ve managed to get some fire elementals to come in to help.”

  “Salamanders?” Shelly asked, her eyes wide with eagerness.

  “Yes,” Frost answered without pausing. “We have six soul-bonded couples. They will make our success possible.”

  Shelly grinned. “Because we kick ass.”

  Tara sighed. “You’ve never even used your newfound powers, Shell. How do you know you kick ass?”

  “I can feel it in my bones. I’m a lean, mean fire-making machine.” Shelly pulled out of Ra’s arms and jumped around, punching her arms out as if she were Rocky about to go twelve rounds with that big Russian dude.

  “Does she ever stop?” Professor Frost asked.

  “Do pigs fly?” Tara asked.

  “We can all hope that one day they might,” Elias said.

  Tara held up her hand and he high fived it. She laughed. “Good one.”

  “Bestie,” Shelly sang. “You’re supposed to defend me, not join in the cajoling.”

  “Meh, the world might end any second,” Tara pointed out. “I think I’ve earned the right to cajole you.”

  “Are you two even using that word correctly?” Gabby asked.

  “Probably not,” Shelly and Tara said at the same time.

  “Well, at least you own your ignorance,” Gabby said with a tip of her head.

  “If you three are done,” Frost said with pursed lips, “can we please get on with our task?”

  “Absolutely,” Shelly said. “Lead the way, fearless leader.”

  Frost shook her head and then turned, walking back the way she’d come. They all started to follow her, and Tara felt as if they were marching toward their doom.

  “We’re going to be fine,” Elias said, obviously having picked up on her anxiety through their bond.

  “I feel like a popsicle, Shelly’s acting like a kid about to get her first ice cream cone, and Gabby looks like she’s going to have an emotional breakdown at any moment. Yet we’re supposed to keep this plant from shutting down. Forgive me if I don’t feel confident in our abilities to follow through on our task.”

  Elias sighed. “Okay. When you put it like that, it sounds quite ominous. So, how about you not put it like that?”

  Tara grinned up at him. “You mean you want me to look at the glass like its half full instead of like it’s frozen?”

  “Exactly,” he said, tapping her on her cold nose.

  “Suck it, dirt boy. I’m not a glass-not-frozen kind of girl.”

  “She’s really not,” Shelly called out from just in front of them. “She’s pretty much a ‘the sky is falling and we’re all going to die’ kind of girl.”

  “I’m with Tara,” Gabby said, raising her hand. “We’re totally going to get our asses handed to us by this next ice age.”

  They rounded a corner of the bridge, and Zuri came into view.

  “Nobody is getting their ass handed to them,” Zuri said dryly. “Just do what you're told and everything will be fine.”

  “Because that’s what always happens when everyone does their job.” Shelly sighed.

  “Notice how the males in your group don’t talk?” Zuri pointed out. “It’s because they’re focused on what they have to do. Maybe you vagina carriers should try it.”

  “Okay, I don’t know how you wound up with a different anatomy than the rest of the female population, but I don’t carry my vagina,” Shelly said, her face scrunching up as if that was the most appalling thing she’d ever heard.

  The guys, who’d been silent up until that point, all choked on laughter.

  Gabby pointed at Shelly, “What she said. No vagina lugging here.”

  Zuri looked at Tara. Tara’s eyes widened. “Oh, are we supposed to declare out loud that we don’t, um, well, carry our girl parts? I just sort of thought that was a given.”

  Zuri rolled her eyes and looked at Frost. “You drew the short straw of having to deal with them. Sucks to be you.”

  “In their defense,” Frost said, “it is pretty ridiculous to think of a woman carrying her vagina around like a handbag.”

  That sent the entire group into a fit of laughter, which caused Zuri to glare daggers at them.

  When they’d finally collected themselves, they continued on their way. Tara was sure she would remember the conversation at random times later and lose it all over again.

  They walked for about five minutes, up and down several steps on the metal bridge, then finally stopped. Tara had warmed up a little since Frost kept them going at a brisk pace.

  Professor Frost turned and looked out over the landscape of machines, storage tanks, and giant pipes that comprised the water system. She pointed to the other side.

  “The rest of the soul-bonded couples are over there,” Frost said. “Ra, Shelly, Gabby, and I are going to send our fire down into the gorge. The fire couples on the other side will do the same.” She turned and looked at them. “Your mates will be pushing their power into you to help strengthen your own. Shelly, you and Ra can still share power. You just need to be touching.”

  Shelly raised her hand as if she were in school. “I’ve never made this fire power in me actually work. Sooo, I’m thinking I’m not going to be a whole lot of help.”

  Ra cupped her face as he looked at her. “Just feel me through our bond. I will guide your power.”

  She nodded and took his hand, linking their gloved fingers together.

  Frost looked at the joined hands and then pointed. “Gloves are going to have to come off. Skin to skin is best.”

  Liam opened his mouth to say something, but Gabby pointed at him and shook her head. To Tara’s surprise, the water elementalist snapped his mouth closed, though he did wink at his mate.

  Her attention was drawn from them when Elias spoke up.

  “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Zuri is going to take you to the engines. You will be helping thaw them.”

  Shelly released Ra’s hand and hurried over to Tara. She wrapped her arms around her and squeezed tight. Tara returned the hug.

  “Stay safe,” Shelly said softly.

  “Unless we make the engine explode, I think we’ll be okay,” Tara pointed out.

  Shelly released Tara, and then rolled her eyes. She headed straight for Gabby and hugged her and said the same thing. Gabby patted her awkwardly on the back, causing Tara to smile.

  With a final wave, Tara and Elias followed Zuri away from her friends. She prayed they, too, would be safe.

  Chapter 16

  Gabby watched Tara, Elias, and Zuri walk away. She felt Liam’s hand on her back. He’d run it up under her coat and shirt so their skin was touching. “They’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t think this was what Frost had in mind when she said skin to skin contact,” Gabby murmured.

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He smirked at her. “Babe, if you think I’m going to miss the opportunity to touch your skin, with the blessing of a professor, you’re nuts. She didn’t specify what skin.”

  Gabby sighed. There was no reasoning with him.

  “Besides,” he continued, “you probably need both your hands to shoot your fire at the water.”

  She couldn’t argue that point. She looked at Ra and Shelly and saw that they’d linked their left and right pinkies together as they held their hands out toward the freezing gorge. Their free hands were held out as well. Gabby’
s attention was pulled from the couple when she saw a large flash on the other side of the water and then fire running down into it.

  “Let’s begin,” Frost said as fire suddenly shot from her hands. She looked like a human flamethrower.

  Gabby held her hands out and focused on her power. Pulling it from her center, she felt the heat engulf her arms and shoot out her palms. Flames erupted and flew like arrows toward the water.

  Liam’s power flowed steadily into her, and she was proud of her ability. The emotions he was pumping into her nearly caused her to falter.

  “Focus, baby,” Liam whispered into her ear. “You got this.”

  Gabby turned her full attention back to the water and pushed even harder. Minutes passed, and the ice began to thaw under their combined efforts. She had no idea how long they’d been heating the water, but sweat was running down her forehead and back. She no longer felt the cold. Gabby wondered if she was burning Liam, and he must have felt her worry.

  “I’m fine, Gabby. You aren’t hurting me.”

  Gabby heard a hollow grinding sound. There had been a steady hum of an engine the entire time they’d been there, but now the sound was rattling the bridge and practically vibrating the air.

  “We’ve managed to heat the water so that the turbines that hadn’t been working have started back up again,” Frost called out.

  That’s something at least.

  She wondered how they were going to keep the water and turbines from freezing back up when they stopped. Because they would have to stop … wouldn’t they?

  “Professor Frost,” Gabby called out, “how will we keep the water from refreezing?”

  “The water elementals will take over once it’s completely thawed,” she answered. “They just needed our help in thawing it quickly. The salamanders will take a little swim.”

  Well, okay then. Gabby continued to keep her power flowing out of her hands. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, Frost yelled, “It’s enough!” She lowered her hands, and Gabby did the same, pulling her power back inside and extinguishing the fire.

  Liam caught her when her legs started to give out. “I’ve got you,” he said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “That was freaking awesome!” Shelly yelled as she pumped a fist into the air. “Did you see me?” She looked at Gabby then her eyes shifted to Liam and then Ra. “I was like, boom, there's my fire, bitches.”

  Gabby couldn’t help but laugh. “You totally kicked that frozen water’s ass.”

  Shelly nodded. “Hell yeah, I did.”

  “So, it wasn’t a problem then?” Gabby asked. “You didn’t seem to think you’d be able to do it.”

  The other girl waved her off. “Ra was right. All I had to do was follow his lead. He sent his power into me through the bond, and then it was like I just knew what to do, like it was instinct.”

  There was a splashing sound. Gabby and the others turned to look over the edge of the bridge.

  “Are those blue-and-green giant lizards?” Shelly asked, her words stilted as she tried to figure out how to describe the large, swimming beasts.

  “Those are fire elementals. The salamanders,” Frost said.

  Gabby turned when she heard Shelly gasp. She shoved Ra, who didn’t move an inch. “You didn’t tell me they were as big as dinosaurs,” she huffed.

  Ra looked at her blankly and said, “You didn’t ask, Mery.”

  Gabby frowned at that. What did Mery mean? He obviously wasn’t calling Shelly by her name so that meant it was a nickname or something.

  “I shouldn’t have to ask. When something that is supposed to be small is actually the size of a yacht, just go ahead and tell me.”

  “My apologies, beloved. I’ll make sure to accurately describe the size of things we speak about so there are no further misunderstandings.”

  Shelly narrowed her eyes at him. “Perhaps you’re the one who needs the next spanking.”

  “Wow,” Gabby breathed out. “That escalated quickly.”

  “Shhh,” Liam said, nudging her. “Let’s hear more about this spanking thing they’ve got going on. I’m taking notes for us.”

  Gabby’s head whipped around. Her eyes narrowed on him. “Do you remember that dagger I had at your throat recently?”

  Liam’s lips tipped up in a sexy smile. “Yes, ma’am. Hottest thing that has ever happened to me. I’m totally into dagger play.”

  Gabby smacked her palm to her forehead. Of course, she would be the one to get the soul bonded freak.

  “Dagger what?” Shelly said as she turned, suddenly more interested in their conversation than threatening her mate with a spanking. Damn, that was an image Gabby did not need in her head.

  “Nothing,” Gabby said quickly.

  “That was not nothing, new BFFF. That is something we will be talking about later. You will spill it because that’s part of the BFFF code.”

  “There’s a code?” Gabby said, her voice rising an octave.

  “Of course. There has to be a code,” Shelly answered. “Chicks got to have some rules, or else catfights break out, slapping and hair-pulling. It gets ugly fast.”

  “Can I come?” Liam asked.

  Shelly smirked and started to say something, but Ra wrapped an arm around her and placed his hand over her mouth. Gabby realized she’d been about to say something very, very inappropriate, and probably something that would cause Gabby to jump into the water with those huge salamanders.

  “Professor Frost,” Ra said in his calm, deep voice, “is there something else we need to do, or should we check in with the other groups around the plant?”

  “As entertaining as this is,” Frost said, “we do need to go help out with the engines.”

  Gabby thought about something as she looked down at the huge fire elementals. “What about them?” she pointed. “Can’t humans see them?”

  Frost shook her head. “They aren’t seen if they don’t want to be seen. We see them because we have elemental magic in us.”

  Liam took Gabby’s hand in his and entwined their fingers together. His hand felt cool in her warmer one and she nearly sighed.

  “You okay?” he asked her over his shoulder as he led her after the others.

  “I’m good. A little tired and I could eat,” she admitted.

  “I’ll see what I can find for you in our packs. I know protein bars have gotten old, but I promise when we get back to one of our academies, I’ll get you whatever you want.”

  Gabby bit her bottom lip and blinked back tears that were not welcome. She’d become an emotional ninny since meeting Liam, and after his heartfelt declaration of love, it hadn’t gotten any better. He was so attentive and eager to take care of her. And he took her sarcasm and teasing in stride.

  It was probably wrong of her, but she just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. He wasn’t perfect. She’d seen that right off the bat with his inappropriate and egotistical comments, but she’d also learned that that attitude was just a front. It was a persona he showed everyone else. Yet Gabby still couldn’t help but think that he would eventually leave her.

  She took a deep breath and forced away her negative thoughts. She’d just have to take it one second at a time, as Liam had suggested. He was proving himself to her, one second at a time.

  They went down a set of narrow stairs and into a corridor. Fluorescent lights lined the walls and harshly lit up the space.

  Their feet echoed in the enclosed space and now and then the lights would flicker.

  “Anyone else find the light flicker thingy creepy?” Shelly asked.

  “That’s creepy 101 in the Creep Academy,” Gabby said.

  Shelly laughed. “Creep Academy. That sounds like a school for future stalkers.”

  Gabby tugged on Liam’s hand. “Did you go to that school?”

  “That’s what I love about you, babe. You got a wicked sense of humor.” Liam sighed wistfully, not bothered in the least by her question.

  “No, for
real,” Shelly called back to them. “Did you take some classes on creeping?”

  “Dude, Elias went to a town and pretended to represent a fake company to meet his chick. Ra walked right into hell and then bound his soul to a chick he’d never even spoken to. But I’m the creepy one?” Liam asked.

  “Okay,” Shelly said as she raised her finger into the air. “I’ll give you one point for that. You three are all creepy. But you’re also hot as hades so that sort of balances out the creep factor.”

  “So if we were unattractive our creepiness wouldn’t be okay?” Ra asked his mate.

  “Exactly,” Shelly said.

  “Yep,” Gabby agreed. “Why do you think Ted Bundy got away with his stalker, creepy ways? Because he was good looking.”

  “I watched a documentary on him,” Shelly piped in. “Those girls totally had to have gotten a weird vibe from him. Crap, I got the weird vibe through the television, and the guy is dead. But they overlooked their gut instinct because he was hot.”

  “And what is the lesson you learned then?” Ra asked.

  “That you might bash me over the head with a crowbar and strangle me, but before that happens I get to enjoy all your yummy muscles and delicious sexiness.”

  Gabby snorted and covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

  “Ra, would you be offended if I said your woman is messed up in the head?” Liam asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. She’s hot, but, seriously, that’s whacked.”

  “Hot?” Gabby asked, her hand heating up in his palm.

  “Ow,” Liam yelled and jerked his hand away. “Damn, woman, warn a man before you attempt to make bacon out of one of his appendages.” Liam looked at her and winked. “Don’t be jealous, Gabs. There’s no one hotter than you.” He raked his eyes down her body and bit his bottom lip.

  “And if I were to say Ra is hot?” Gabby asked.

  Liam’s head snapped forward to glare at the pharaoh. His jaw clenched before he finally turned back to her. “Message received, babe.”