The Tantalising Taste Of Water (Elemental Awakening, Book 4)

by Nicola Claire

  The King let out a frustrated sigh. A show of emotion I found most intriguing. But then, it was no doubt purposeful. Letting his people see the weight of the decision he had to make.

  Paving the way for them to accept it.

  “I have trusted your grandfather’s advice for millennia,” he said in a low rumble. “I do not wish to ignore it now.” There was a “but” in there, I knew it.

  It didn’t take long for the King to let it free.

  “The current devastation of those villages and cities beneath us means we must tread carefully, however.” My shoulders slumped, even as Hip straightened his back further.

  He didn’t get a chance to make his argument.

  “Machu Picchu must continue to stand,” the King announced, in full booming authority. “We are the lone survivors of our race. We must go on.”

  That was it. That was his decision. I turned my head and met Theo’s disappointed eyes. His hand reached out for mine and clasped it. If I had to, I’d lightning us away from here in an instant. If I had to, I’d risk bringing down the last surviving Athanatos Pyrgos to escape.

  The world was still dying. Fighting something I couldn’t beat was a waste of effort. We’d find another solution. Somewhere. Somehow. We had to.

  The clock was ticking and time was running down.

  “Tick tock. Tick tock,” the shaman said happily off to the side. I glared at him. Did he read minds?

  Or had he seen this all already?

  The King looked at the shaman, drawn by his voice and unusual ramblings. The shaman rarely seemed to make any sense, but when he spoke, everyone listened.

  “Perhaps a compromise,” the King said quietly.

  I met his pale blue eyes.

  “Hippolytos,” he said. “You will be Aether’s guide.”

  I turned and looked at Hip, who was bowing to the King, accepting his assignment. It wasn’t a glowing show of support. But it wasn’t “nothing” either.

  Hip wasn’t a shaman like his grandfather. But I was certain he’d heard every single word his gramps had ever muttered during his very long life. As a guide, he could be very useful.

  As a representative of Aeras, he covered the Rigas’ arse should Aetheros strike.

  “Will you accept this offer, Aether?” the King asked.

  I’d be stupid not to. I nodded my head, offering a small bow as I did it.

  “Whatever supplies you require, we will endeavour to provide,” the King added. The unsaid being, but you should leave any minute now.

  Being here painted a bullseye on the Aeras. I couldn’t really blame the Rigas for wanting us off this mountainside.

  “Thank you,” Theo said genuinely. “We will organise our departure through Hippolytos and keep you advised.”

  In other words, we’d be keeping the channels of communication open. The Aeras weren’t getting let off the hook completely. Theo was determined to let the King see the threat in amongst the civil reply.

  I don’t think anyone missed it. Especially the shaman, who started dancing and singing and cackling to himself in crazy old man style.

  Voices rose up in the throne room then, as if everything had been settled and life was returning to normal for the Aeras Court at last. I supposed it was. As far as they were concerned, Aeras was remaining exactly where it was, distanced from the trouble; safe, secure, unharmed. Sooner or later, they wouldn’t be.

  I knew this as if the shaman himself had whispered the prediction in my ear.

  No one was going to escape Genesis. Machu Picchu might have garnered a reprieve, but it would not last. Genesis was a warning. And it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  Theo turned to me, offering a small smile and then shifting his attention to Hip at my side.

  “We should leave.”

  “Yes,” Hip agreed. “The Rigas will think on this tonight.”

  “And change his mind?” I offered.

  Hip shrugged. “Possibly.”

  Then we’d better get a move on. Leaving under an umbrella of cooperation, even a false one, was better than running for our lives.

  “Are you OK with this?” I asked Hip. “Leaving Machu Picchu?”

  Hip offered me a charming smile. “I have always known I would leave with you, Aether. Since I was a child.”

  “But you didn’t leave with me last time,” I argued, surprise at his ready acceptance of his fate making me blunt.

  “You weren’t Aether then.” Despite the title.

  I shook my head. Whatever the reason Hip was coming with us, I was relieved. It wasn’t an entire Aeras Scout regiment with the full backing of the Aeras King, but it was a place to start. The Rigas had acknowledged me, had accepted me as one of his own. When the time was right, I’d push for more.

  I wasn’t entirely sure what “more” was exactly, but it was a start.

  Areas were no longer an enemy. Not quite an ally. But close enough.

  We started walking out of the throne room, after one more mostly ignored bow to the King and Queen, when Theo said, “So, who do we approach first?”

  “Not the Nero,” I replied with absolute conviction.

  “Then my father?” Theo offered with absolutely none.

  I grimaced. “That leaves the Gi.”

  “Hmmm,” was all Theo said as we made it to our chamber.

  Hip promised to get all the supplies we requested and hurried off to organise his own farewells, as Theo and I moved about quietly, enjoying each other’s company, and our own last minute chance to shower under intact plumbing. Out there the world was broken.

  In here…

  “How are you feeling?” Theo asked.

  I flicked a glance over my shoulder, from where I’d been standing, staring out of the window at the dawn of a new sunrise. The old brick houses of Machu Picchu cast long shadows as golden fingers reached down cobbled paths.

  “Better.”

  “Are you?” he pressed, moving closer until I could feel his warmth at my side. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers gentle, his eyes soft.

  “They say I’m Aether now.”

  “But you don’t believe them?” Theo guessed.

  I shook my head. “I am Aether. I was always Aether. But four Stoicheio is not the end.”

  “How do you know?”

  I didn’t. Maybe the shaman did, but if he’d told us, I couldn’t remember. His riddles barely made sense as it was.

  “This still feels too big,” I admitted.

  “It is big,” Theo confirmed. “But you have four Stoicheio at your beck and call.”

  I lifted my hand up and stared at it for a moment. Then let Fire dance, hopping from finger to finger. Air surged around the tips and made the flames lick higher. Water doused them, tiny droplets spinning around and around with the twirl of a single digit. The Earth sighed, making the window rattle.

  “Beautiful,” Theo whispered. “You make my heart sing with such pride.”

  “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s me doing these things,” I whispered back. “Sometimes it’s as if I’m watching someone else do it. Someone older and wiser and so much more adept than I ever could be.”

  Theo chuckled and wrapped his arms around my body, shifting us until he was resting his rear on the deep windowsill and I was leaning between his outstretched thighs. He kissed the side of my head, inhaling my scent softly.

  “It’s all you, Oraia.”

  “What do you think will happen when this is over?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, will I still have all four Stoicheio? Or will I have none?”

  “You’re Athanatos now. That cannot change.”

  “Can’t it?” I wondered. Aetheros had made me. Could he simply unmake me? Would that be the sacrifice?

  “You’re my Thisavros,” Theo said with a growl, his arms tightening briefly. “Once a Thisavros, always a Thisavros. Aetheros’ promise to our kind.”

  “And you
think he’ll honour that?” I queried doubtfully. “When the Athanatos themselves have turned their backs on their god.”

  Theo let out a long sigh. “You’re looking for problems where they may never exist.”

  “But they might,” I argued.

  “Casey,” he said softly. “We have enough to contend with.”

  He was right, we did. Searching for more trouble when it hadn’t yet arrived was silly. I needed to concentrate on what we faced now, not what we may face in the future.

  Still, it was hard to let it go. Hip had mentioned a sacrifice. The shaman had said my time on earth was nearly over. Neither boded well.

  “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,” I finally admitted to Theo.

  “You haven’t done too badly so far.”

  I laughed, it wasn’t exactly mirthful.

  “Burned down the Amazon. Killed a Queen. Destroyed mythical Atlantis. Released its monsters into the world. Pissed off a crazy Fire-wielding King. Where, in all of that, have I not done too badly so far?”

  Theo was trying not to laugh, his whole body shaking silently, his arms trembling around my waist as he buried his face in my hair.

  “Yeah, thought so,” I quipped.

  “You are marvellous; you know that? Simply amazing.”

  “I don’t feel it.”

  “Oraia,” he said with feeling, “you stun me. There is no one in this world as capable as you, as loyal and honest and dedicated and determined and kind and caring and wonderful. No one.”

  “You’re biased.”

  “I’m in love; I’ll grant you. But I am not blind.”

  “Theo,” I said in warning, but then he grasped my chin carefully, tilted my face towards him, and kissed me. Slowly, softly, completely.

  He showed me what it was I couldn’t feel. He told me with his lips and tongue and whole body what it was he could see. The kiss lasted for minutes, or hours, I don’t know. I gladly got lost in it. Got lost in Theo.

  He’d always had the ability to stop everything. My mind. My doubts. The world spinning.

  The shadows brightened. I was no longer lost at sea. I might have questioned there was more to being Aether, but at that moment, in Theo’s arms, being kissed by the man who meant everything, it didn’t matter.

  With Theo at my side, I could accomplish anything.

  A knock on the door interrupted our make-out session, and when Theo pulled away to greet Hip, the darkness continued to recede. I wasn’t whole; I knew that. But I wasn’t broken either. I hadn’t asked for any of this, but I was doing the best that I could with what I’d been given.

  The weight was still hefty. The burden, as the Aeras Rigas had said, was heavy. But I was Aether. I was Aetheros’ chosen.

  It was time to stop doubting a god.

  I turned to face Theo and Hip, just as Hip touched Theo’s chest and released his Stoicheio. I felt the swell of Pyrkagia surge through the room. It almost buckled my legs. Theo let out a small cough, the only indication that the action had caused him pain, and then glanced down at the backpacks Hip had brought with him.

  The political Prince’s façade slid onto his face.

  “Can we travel by lightning with all of that?” Theo asked.

  “Of course,” Hip replied. “But to where are we going?” His slightly white-washed eyes met mine.

  “I’ll lead, you follow,” I offered.

  “A direction might be nice,” Hip teased.

  I laughed because it was expected. But trust was something he’d have to earn. The Areas might not be an enemy as such, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still be bought.

  I didn’t trust the Alchemists. And the Alchemists were playing a dangerous game, it seemed. They’d reached the Nero. They’d meddled with the Pyrkagia. They’d had an agent in Gi.

  Aeras had escaped their attention so far, but I wasn’t naive enough to believe that couldn’t be altered. I had to hope, though, that the Aeras Rigas had now been warned, and the shaman couldn’t be fooled easily. But should they infiltrate Machu Picchu somehow, I’d rather the Alchemists didn’t know where we had been heading.

  “You’ll see,” I offered Hip instead, receiving a raised eyebrow from Theo. He got the message, though, because he didn’t press further, just slipped on a backpack, hooked up another couple in his free hand, and clasped palms with me.

  I’d already donned a pack myself, and Hip had picked up the rest, turning now to look at me expectantly. A small smattering of that enthusiasm of his showing in the grin that graced his stubbled cheeks

  “I am on your side, Aether,” he murmured, then offered a wink.

  I smiled, held out my hand for him to grasp, and thought, We’ll see.

  Then reached for Air and called on lightning, letting the smell of ozone surround us, the electrical buzz engulf us, and the crackle of electricity fill the room.

  Aktor, I said to the Element, visualising Theo’s old butler and my dear, dear friend.

  Of course, Aether, Air whispered back inside my mind. As you wish.

  And lightning struck.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aether, Let’s Dance

  Travelling by lightning hadn’t gotten any easier. In fact, I wasn’t sure if distance or the amount of “luggage” we were carrying made a difference to how painful it felt. The journey from on top of the Andes to the top of Table Mountain left me panting. As soon as our feet touched down, my legs gave out. Sweat had beaded my brow and nausea made me swallow compulsively. I blinked back tears, trying to focus on our surroundings, feeling a wind ruffle my hair and try to soothe me.

  Sucking in a fortifying breath of air, I struggled to my feet, Theo already at my side, offering a hand to guide me. Hip stood stoically some distance away; I wasn’t sure if we’d lost contact during the “flight” here, or he had simply stepped aside allowing my Thisavros time to aid me. Either way, his distance made it easier to breathe.

  And that just left me puzzled.

  I might not have trusted the Aeras guide, but I did like Hip to some degree. His distance shouldn’t have elicited such a strong and primal response from me. But as Theo’s hand rubbed down my spine and his warmth seeped into the side of me, breathing became easier and easier.

  Hip nodded to Theo in some sort of non-verbal machismo communication, and then a shout sounded out over our shoulders. We spun toward the threat, noting several tents had been pitched against an outcropping. Table Mountain was relatively flat, but here and there stood stone plinths providing some shelter from the persistent wind.

  Air had followed us here from Aeras as if keeping an eye on its children.

  “Casey!” Mark was the first to realise they had company. He was crawling out of the opening of a tent still, so hadn’t been on guard.

  A shout from some distance away indicated Nico had been the one on watch. But somehow my brother had been the one alerted first to our arrival. Maybe he’d felt the Air?

  “Thank fuck you’re all right,” Mark enthused with typical disregard to proper language. He rushed over and gripped me in a tight embrace.

  I’d always enjoyed my big brother’s bear hugs, but for some reason, I placed distance between us immediately and took a step toward Theo’s side. The wind on top of the mountain moaned woefully, and fat raindrops started to plummet from the sky.

  “Huh?” Mark said, not commenting on my strange behaviour. He lifted a hand up to the heavens and caught a drop of Water, staring at it with a small measure of surprise. “There was no rain in the air earlier,” he said distractedly.

  “Theo!” Nico called as he ran towards us. “You always knew how to sneak in anywhere.”

  Theo laughed at his cousin, offering up a manly back-slap and half-hug, then stepping back when a growling sound emitted from the back of my throat. It had obviously been quite loud.

  “What was that?” Theo asked, his lips twitching. But a look of concern shadowed his eyes.

  I shook my head but found myself moving toward him,
a desire to touch, to taste, to scent overriding all logic and sense.

  “Casey?” Theo asked, mildly alarmed.

  “About time you came back for us,” a sharp voice announced interrupting Theo’s and my staring match. “We’ve been freezing our butts off waiting for your Thisavros to clear her head.”

  “Isadora,” Theo said without inflexion.

  The bitch-cow smoothed her angry features into a simpering smile and then squealed when a bucket-sized amount of water landed on her head. In seconds she was drenched through, leaving her looking kinda like a drowned rat. Nice.

  “That’s weird,” my brother announced.

  “Not weird, Marcus,” Isadora snapped. “Childish.” Her eyes landed on me, and she snarled. “I see you’ve Awakened Nero.”

  “Wonderful news!” Aktor exclaimed, exiting a tent with Sonya at his back.

  “I didn’t do that,” I argued, returning Sonya’s wave of welcome, trying to ignore the fact that my best friend had climbed out of a tent with Aktor inside.

  “Aetheros certainly didn’t,” Isadora hissed in reply.

  “Casey,” Theo said, drawing my attention. “Are you feeling all right?”

  “I’m fine!” I snapped back. I was sick of everyone blaming everything on me. “If I’d really wanted to slap Isadora, I would have made her drown,” I pointed out, rather reasonably I thought.

  Then heard gurgling off to the side.

  With dread that weighed a thousand tonnes, I turned toward Dora; who was frantically clawing at her neck, water pouring out of her nose and mouth.

  “Fuck me!” Mark exclaimed, rushing over and waving his hand in front of Isadora’s face. The Water evaporated, and Isadora took in a lungful of air.

  “Oh, crap,” I muttered, taking a step back from the accusatory - to my mind - stares.

  “Bitch!” Isadora gasped, still sounding a little too waterlogged. “What have I ever done to you?”

  Now, that was a bit of a loaded question, wasn’t it? A squall buffeted the top of the mountain suddenly, pushing against Isadora, forcing her farther away from everyone else. No, not everyone, I realised, as I saw where Theo was standing; part way between his Dora and me. It was pushing her away from my Thisavros.