Forged from Flame

by Kasey Mackenzie

  My eyes widened because damn. They must have trained night and day since we left in order for the Clan to trust them to carry that many dangerous weapons—and to stand ready for what could quickly go very, very wrong. Obviously, they couldn’t have become expert warriors in such a short time, but still. They’d earned enough trust to stand with us should the worst come to pass.

  Si Si smiled and waved, so I forced a natural-looking smile and waved back. We’d have to play catchup later, because Breena’s Quatrain and the Firsts beckoned my group to the front of the water tank. Time to put my money where my mouth was and hope like hell I wasn’t making yet another colossal mistake.

  Jake squeezed my hand and then let it drop. He moved to stand next to his father, and every Dragon present moved to flank them. Breena took Jake’s place at my side and urged us back a few steps. Apparently, the Dragons must have a way to speed up the revival process for another Dragon, which made sense because I believed Breena had done something similar for me in the past. Ju Hai and Li Ming were the only non-Dragons to stay next to the tank. When Yan, First Dragon, gestured to the two Selkies, they channeled Water, draining the tank’s contents in an instant and sending the water arcing back into the lake.

  The earth beneath our feet rumbled softly, and then a pillar of rich black soil erupted from the ground, pouring into the tank to replace the missing water. I embraced Elemental vision a little belatedly, reveling in the brilliant green Earth energy that shot into the tank in the wake of physical earth.

  A ring of Dragons now encircled the water tank, and they wasted no time in directing flow after flow of Earth energy into the rich soil that concealed Keith’s body from our eyes. This was nothing like when I’d buried Jake in the cemetery back before I gained half a clue on how Elemental magic worked. The sheer flood of energy was staggering, and it made the process exponentially faster; as evidenced by its taking mere minutes instead of hours for my ex-boyfriend to put in his appearance.

  The dark soil encasing Keith’s body suddenly churned with angry force. A spear of green light thrust upward, cleaving a clear path through the earth and revealing a wild-eyed—and naked—Keith, looking as untouched as if his body hadn’t been on proverbial ice since I burned it to death.

  He leapt out of the tank—or at least he tried to. I’d acted on instinct the moment I recognized the furious panic in his expression and thrown up a first-level firewall between him and everyone else. He hit the magical barrier and bounced back, legs soon encased up to the waist in the soil that had resettled once he burst out of it. His gaze shot around the people surrounding him until it found me. He relaxed slightly, arms falling to his side and lips twisting in a sardonic smile that had once driven me crazy in a good way. Now it just made me nervous in a bad way. What if this didn’t work?

  It’s going to! I reassured myself stubbornly. It has to!

  Since fake it till you make it was pretty much my life’s motto, I pasted an equally sardonic smile on my face and stepped up to the barrier’s outer edge. Wen and Yan made room for me, nodding reassuringly. Jake growled from where he stood opposite me—and behind Keith—but he didn’t interfere.

  Keith’s smile increased, possibly because he recognized the growl behind him, and he nodded at me. “Hello there, love. Yours was not a face I expected to see upon first waking up.”

  One polite Elemental euphemism deserved another. I gave a careless little shrug. “Since I was the one to send you into your little slumber, it only seemed fair.”

  “Yes, I seem to vaguely remember you getting the best of me in that warehouse. I assume you got the best of your father, too.”

  My smile turned wolfish. “In a manner of speaking. He ran off like the coward he is after we defeated all his allies.” What I left unsaid was that I’d been a little too dead to walk away from that encounter myself.

  Keith’s expression sobered, and his eyes peered into mine as if seeking truth. “Are you serious? You defeated Garrett and made him retreat? You?”

  I folded my arms across my chest, narrowed my eyes, and pursed my lips. “Why do you sound so surprised, Keith? You should know better than to underestimate me. I mean, I was the one to kill you with barely a few weeks of training. And yeah, I stood up to my father—your cousin—with pretty much no Mindbending training, and he was most definitely the one to run.”

  He tilted his head in consideration. “So you know now what he is, and what you truly are.”

  “Damn right I do—no thanks to you.”

  Keith had the shame to flush slightly, body taking on a defensive posture. “Then you should know how little choice I had in most of my actions over the past decades since Garrett first imposed his will over mine.”

  My lips pursed into an expression that would have done a school librarian confronted by ruined books proud. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m unable to take only your word for that.”

  He gave a rueful nod. “Of course every jailed criminal claims to be actually innocent.”

  “Is that what you are?”

  “A jailed criminal or actually innocent?”

  I tilted my head and just waited.

  “I am both of those things, judging by the fact your Clan has revived rather than permanently killed me. Unless this is to be a trial and then execution?” At my headshake, he pursed his own lips before drawing the correct conclusion. “Then I can only assume you must need something from me. Something only I can provide?”

  “Good guess,” I replied sardonically.

  “Information concerning Garrett’s plans and whereabouts, perhaps? Ideas on how to infiltrate his headquarters?”

  “Those would certainly be nice, and you can bet we’ll have a little chat about those later, but no.”

  His brows furrowed, and he swept a searching glance around the assembled crowd. Jake growled again when Keith’s glance met his, but Keith merely smiled and continued seeking. His eyes finally made it back to the three liegesworn next to me—and zeroed in on the obviously pregnant Bianca. Realization lit in his eyes. Rather than appearing horrified, as I’d expected, his expression grew eager.

  “You managed to rescue two of your living siblings and the two unborn ones from under his very nose!” So he’d apparently known of Bianca’s pregnancy before he died. His voice sounded so impressed I didn’t bother correcting his misinterpretation. They’d actually saved themselves. I was just making it easier for them to stay rescued. “You could say that.”

  “And you’ll obviously need to form a powerful Quatrain quickly in case both babies are strong Elementals.”

  “Indeed.”

  “So am I correct in assuming you are considering me as the Dragon?”

  “My, Keith, you’re certainly on a roll.”

  He couldn’t hold back an amused smile. “My, Cass, but you all must be extremely desperate to even consider me. Garrett’s enforcer and the man responsible for destroying one-half of his own Quatrain.” His voice shot from amused to bitter in mere seconds. He almost sounded as if discussing that first Quatrain’s demise actually pained him; as if he might have cared about them.

  He might have—or he might be trying to gain your sympathy by pretending. Either way, it doesn’t really matter.

  “Not to put too fine a point on this, Keith, but we are desperate, and we’re well aware of your many flaws. But we need a powerful Dragon and weakness has never been one of your faults, from what I can tell.”

  He nodded, expression pensive. “I assume you’ll watch me 24/7, and you only care whether I live until the children are born.”

  “Naturally,” I responded, lips twitching when Jake muttered, “Nobody here actually cares whether you live. We just need you to for a few months.”

  Keith ignored Jake’s taunt. “And what do I get out of this arrangement?”

  “Besides continuing to breathe and not finding yourself permanently dead?” He nodded. “To start with, you will gain full freedom from Garrett’s being able to manipulate you mentally.
Double protection, actually.”

  “And how on earth can you promise such a thing? There’s no guaranteed freedom until we complete the Quatrain, and even that isn’t foolproof. How do you think he forced me to break half my first Quatrain once he tracked me down in Ireland?”

  So he had escaped from Garrett’s influence before bonding my mother, only to later be found? Or wanted me to think that. Something to explore at a later date. “I can guarantee that freedom, Keith, because I am what I am. Hikaru’s magical heir if not child of his line. The first true liegelord since him. And you will become my next liegesworn, or—” I said this with every ounce of ice-cold sincerity I could muster, “You will most likely die. Permanently.”

  Chapter 17

  A genuine smile crossed his face at this pronouncement, making his face appear truly happy for the first time in—I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him this happy. Before our breakup several years earlier, at least.

  “Oh, Cass, you have no idea how good that is to hear. Garrett’s one and only child to become the very thing he’s been trying to manufacture—and you’re the one who hates him most and is the furthest from his reach.”

  Dia placed hands on hips and echoed my earlier lip pursing. “I wouldn’t say that. Nic and I hate his lying, murdering ass a whole hell of a lot.”

  Nic backed up this statement with an enthusiastic nod but otherwise remained silent. I bit my lip and then asked, “So that’s why he’s been genetically experimenting on his own children? Not just to create another pure Mindbender like him and Drew? He wanted to make another Mindbending Elemental like Hikaru?”

  Keith nodded, savage joy still infusing his expression. “He knew that every time someone like him gained the amount of power he hungers to obtain, the universe sends someone like you as a counterbalance. His hope was to raise either that potential counterbalance himself, or to have a similar being by his side to defend against the true counterbalance.”

  Jake let out a sudden laugh. “Let me get this straight. Garrett created Cass hoping she would grow up loyal to him but instead, thanks to his screwing shit up at every turn in her life, he ensured she hates him so much that she’ll never defend him. In fact, now she’s sworn to destroy him before he can get any more powerful.”

  Keith’s smile grew even bigger and his British accent even more pronounced. “Precisely. Poetic justice at its finest.”

  Goosebumps pricked my flesh, and I began rubbing my arms against the unsettling feeling sweeping across me. Something felt…off. Probably learning that my father had created the very monster he’d been hoping to create—only the monster wasn’t Drew, like I’d presumed. It was me.

  Dia sensed my disquiet and placed a hand on my arm. “I for one am glad he created Cass just the way she is—and that he had no hand in raising her to be the kickass, strong-as-hell, extremely good person she is. Exactly the Mindbending Elemental we need.”

  Nic placed a hand on my other arm and nodded, fierce expression in his eyes. “I absolutely agree.”

  Their words would have warmed me to the core except for one problem. Goosebumps had escalated into pure, unadulterated dread icing every ounce of my body and mind. I focused on Elemental vision again and frantically searched our surroundings, only to see nothing out of the ordinary. That just terrified me further. My magical instincts were raising all hell for a reason. And knowing now what I did about Spirit…

  My eyes widened, and I reached for the nearest band of Spirit to enhance my vision—but I was too late.

  “Well, isn’t this show of sibling solidarity absolutely touching?” an unfamiliar masculine voice echoed in the air, seeming to come from both everywhere and nowhere all at once. “I feel positively left out.”

  “Drew!” Dia and Nic cried, fear lacing their voices. Their hands tightened on my arms, and they made as if to shield me. Easier tried than done, however, since our evil brother hadn’t yet made an actual physical appearance.

  Until suddenly he did.

  Hundreds of shimmering black bands flashed all around, and when my vision cleared, I caught sight of dozens of gun-bearing enemies and even more Elementals spread out in a large circle around us. They fortunately didn’t outnumber us—I’d say we had the slight edge, numbers wise—but the fact that they’d managed to get past both our magical wards and the Spirit traps I’d set terrified me. That neither Riku, Colin, nor I had sensed their approach scared me even more.

  Not that I could afford to show that weakness now. Time for more faking it till making it.

  I made my lips curve into a large, delighted smile. “How punctual, dear brother whose official acquaintance I’ve not yet made. I’ve been expecting you.”

  “You have?” Dia muttered so only Nic and I could hear.

  Nic snickered, but I just ignored the comment and kept my gaze focused on the nearest group of enemies. A dozen people armed to the teeth surrounded a smaller number of obvious Elementals. One representing each of the four physical elements—I could tell by the colors of magical energy flowing around them—and one tall young man surrounded by pure shards of Spirit.

  His physical resemblance to Garrett was staggering; the same blonde hair and pale blue eyes that I also shared with our father paired with the same pleasantly handsome features. His physique was slimmer and rangier, not a huge surprise given his youth. He stood taller than Garrett, taller than everyone present except for Isaac.

  “Hello, dear sister,” he said in an almost singsong voice. “I’m surprised to hear you expected me. I was so careful to cover our tracks.”

  “Oh, never fear. You did a fairly good job—not perfect, of course—but luring you here was all part of the plan.”

  It was a damned good thing Drew’s attention was focused on me, because Jake’s flabbergasted expression would have given my outright bluff away. I tightened my lips and sent a flash of warning emotion across our bond. He immediately assumed a perfect poker face.

  Drew’s lips took on a petulant expression, emphasizing his youth. “You expect me to believe you knew Father would send me here to reclaim what is ours?”

  I played upon his sulkiness by giving a carefree shrug. “Believe what you want, baby brother.” That had petulance instantly replaced by fury. Baby brother apparently struck a nerve, so I kept picking at that exposed weakness. “Although Father should have learned his lesson not to underestimate me by now.”

  He rolled his eyes and waved that statement off. “Yes, you had some success in using your liegelord bonds to mentally evict him from one of your liegesworn’s minds and your own dreams. But you’ll soon find that I am not so easily evicted—especially not when backed by this delicious physical proximity.”

  That was all the warning I had before he struck—but in a manner that no one around us could sense or stop. Thick cords of Spirit erupted from around his body to stab straight at me. I attempted to parry with my own band of Spirit, but it was too paltry to stand a chance. The physical world faded as Drew used the inexorable cords of Spirit to pull my psyche into a spiritual realm of his own creation.

  At first, inky black darkness was the only thing I could discern, along with a resurgence of that ice-cold dread vibrating along every fiber of my being. Panic soon followed on the heels of dread, but I forced myself to take slow, even breaths; something that helped even here in a distinctly not physical world. I reminded myself that I was not alone, no matter how Drew was currently making me feel. To help illustrate this point to myself, I felt for the ironclad bond tying Jake and me together more tightly than any mortal marriage vows ever could. Sure enough, that bond remained as strong as ever. Masked slightly by whatever spell Drew had cast, but clearly still there. As were the bonds linking me to Dia, Nic, and Bianca.

  He wants me to feel cut off; to beat down my spirit here while our father’s minions attack in the real world with me preoccupied here. That thought had dread redoubling throughout my body. If my father appeared to reinforce Drew’s terrifying abilities, they’d mos
t likely win. Those two together would be more than a match for Riku and Colin. I’d barely stood up to Garrett myself, and that had been thanks to the elements of surprise and magical ingenuity, as well as the fact he hadn’t wanted me permanently dead.

  He’d have no such qualms about Riku or Colin—or the vast majority of my loved ones gathered around us. I had to break whatever spell this was now.

  First, I needed to shed a little light on the situation. No matter where my evil baby brother had pulled my psyche to, he was not the only one who could influence it. That was the whole point of this amorphous and overpowering fifth element. Those who could wield it were never truly powerless unless they convinced themselves otherwise.

  And I’d had quite enough of feeling powerless in my life.

  Even though I couldn’t physically see, I reached out blindly for the cords of Spirit that made up the very flesh and bone of this ephemeral world. The nearest strands responded eagerly to my touch, almost as if they’d been waiting for just this. I smiled tightly and wound the shimmering strands about me, working my will upon them and demanding that they amplify all six of my senses. They responded in a rushing flood of magic, and inky blackness evaporated.

  I found myself standing in the midst of midnight blue air, cold silver stars gleaming in an endless expanse of night sky and springy grass beneath my fee. No smells or sounds were discernable, save for sweat upon my body (despite it not being my real body) and the thudding of my heart (again not the real one). But I knew damned good and well Daddy’s Little Sociopath was out there somewhere.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are!” I called mockingly. “You don’t need to be so scared of me, Baby Brother.”