Life and Water: The Elementals: Book One

by Melanie Gilbert

  “Thanks for letting me sleep by you last night,” Isla told me quietly as we walked along.

  “No problem.” I gave her a small smile.

  The Lanshay’s kept a tight circle around my family, and they seemed to be more on edge than we were. Probably something about that show Carmon mentioned. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. For two hours I rattled my mind trying to understand what he meant. What kind of a show would creatures want to see?

  Then it hit me. Fear like I had never felt before tore through my entire being. I couldn’t move. I just stopped walking. My head wouldn’t tell my body to function. It was too paralyzed with fear. My ears didn’t seem to be working and my brain didn’t register a thing my eyes saw.

  Soon, I was aware of a stinging in my cheek, but it wasn’t enough to bother with. Then it was back, and hurt more, my head was forced to the side as well. What was happening? My brain took that moment to finally start working and I could see Carmon in front of me, shaking me, and yelling. “Breathe, dang it! Do not make me hit you again! Sylee!”

  My brain told my feet to take a step back, and surprisingly they listened. I also took in a huge gulp of hair. My vision started to clear as air made its way to my muddled brain.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” my mom exclaimed wrapping me in a hug. I let her until I remembered why I’d frozen in the first place. Then I pulled myself out of my mom’s arms and threw myself into the arms of my mate, who was too stunned to move. The sobs started then. I’d never cried at home, but I’d never felt such overwhelming fear there. Even when the witches would attack I hadn’t felt this level of terror. I hated that I showed such weakness to him. He probably thought I was the weakest female he’d ever met. Today, he was right.

  “Put your arms around her, rub her back, and tell her it’s all right,” I heard my father tell Carmon. “We’ll go back the way we came to give you both some privacy.”

  I could feel Carmon nod to my father as he followed his advice. His arms came around my back and tightened to hold me to him. I grabbed the front of his shirt and cried until it was soaked. He couldn’t fight for me. I wouldn’t let him. If he died because of me I would never be able to forgive myself. Not that it was my fault, but I felt like it was. I cried until I had nothing left, and he held me without complaint, at least no verbal complaint, until I was done.

  “Are you okay?” he asked when I pulled back. Who asks a woman who just cried like that if they are okay? But when I looked up into his eyes, I saw something I’d never seen there: uncertainty. Had he ever held a woman in his arms before? The look faded from his eyes and he caught his mistake. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid question. I guess ‘How do you feel?’ would fit the situation better.”

  “I figured out the show you were talking about.” He nodded looking around us. I couldn’t figure out what he was looking for until he took my hand and led me to another fallen tree to sit on. I missed comfortable chairs.

  “And..” he prodded after we’d sat down.

  “I’m scared for you,” I admitted without looking at him. It was the truth, and I wasn’t going to lie to him.

  I jumped a little when he used a couple of fingers to lift my chin to look at him. I did as he wanted and looked directly into his beautiful blue eyes.

  “I’ll be fine, Sylee. This is not the first time I’ve fought, and killed, these creatures.”

  “But what if you’re not fine? I can’t stand the thought of you dying because of me, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure you won’t let me fight them myself.” I balled my fists and hit the log when a thought passed through my head that had never occurred to me before, “No wonder you hate me.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see him lean forward and run his hands over his face. He gave a great sigh. “I don’t hate you. Yes, I find you difficult. You oppose my authority and fight me at every turn. I couldn’t stand it when we first met. Now, you’ve worn me down and I find it mildly irritating.”

  Wow, what an incredibly amazing compliment! No wonder he had women hanging off each arm.

  He continued. “You and Bard want me to be able to say that I love you, that I’ll be the husband of your dreams. I can’t tell you those things. I’m not sure I ever will be able to tell them to you, and if I’m being truly honest with you, I’ve never wanted a mate. I can’t stand women. I know Bard wants you to keep trying to get me to come around, but if I were you, I wouldn’t hold out for much.”

  Well, that was depressing. Give me back my amazing compliments. Turns out he had heard a lot of my conversation with Bard after all and it looked like my knight in shining armor was being trampled by his horse, and he was letting it happen.

  After a few minutes of awkward silence, Carmon asked me what I knew of bond challenges.

  “Only what Bard told me. He said the challenger could take the bond, or something like that.”

  “The challenger fights to break the bond of the current bond holder. If I die, our bond will break, and the challenger will be free to bond with you. Our bond does not automatically move to him, so if I fall, stay with my brothers. They will protect you against the challenger,” Carmon instructed.

  “I’ll stay with them, Commander. Should I bond with one of your brothers if the challenge ends badly? Not that it will. I don’t think that at all!” Bumbling mouth. He probably thought I had no confidence in him whatsoever. It’s not like we were friends. I just didn’t want to see him die. It’d be hard to admire the body of a corpse the way my eyes liked to wander over him.

  Ding Dong had the nerve to laugh at me. “Stay calm, Mate. It won’t end badly, and I won’t force you to bond with any of my brothers. I know it sounds backwards, but I won’t force them to bond. I’m a hypocrite, I know, but at least there was one willing party in our bond. Anyway,” he got more serious, and I knew he entered Commander mode. “When I fight my challenger, or challengers, you will stay by Adam. Do not talk. Do not move. He will keep you safe, but if you do either of those two things he has my permission to restrain you or close your mouth anyway he sees fit. You are not allowed to help either party, or talk to either of us once the fight starts. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  “One last thing. It’s not going to be a pretty sight. One of us will die. We will both receive injuries and it will be hard for you to watch. Have you witnessed someone being killed before?”

  “No, I haven’t.” My stomach rolled, and I thought I would puke after everything was over, “But I can handle it, sir. I’ll probably lose it afterwards, but I can be strong when I need to be.”

  “I know you can. Just remember what I told you. Let’s go grab your family and get moving again. I’d really like to get this over with.”

  The Lanshay’s and my family caught back up quickly after their little retreat, and our procession was on its way again. Carmon had kept my hand after our conversation. I knew it wasn’t for him. He didn’t like me, but I appreciated the comfort he was trying to give me. I guessed Bard was right. He did have a kind spot in his heart, even if it wasn’t very big and was buried deep.

  We walked until midafternoon, or at least that was my best guess since we couldn’t see the sun. Then the silent forest came to life, and I about had a heart attack. The show was apparently going to start soon. The creatures screeched and bellowed at the top of their lungs. I grabbed Carmon’s forearm with my other hand while trying to push down my terror.

  “What’s going on?” my father asked as we all crowded together.

  “A challenge,” Adam replied, looking sideways at Carmon.

  “A challenge for what?” Isla asked.

  “Your sister,” Carmon answered, squeezing my hand. Yeah, this was it.

  Chapter Five

  Carmon

  “What do you mean a challenge for my daughter?” Jonas asked. I could hear the worry in his voice. This man was used to being in control. I had taken part of his control away by taking lead of his fami
ly. The forest was taking more by giving him unexpected problems. Jonas Hamilton was a man who would protect his family no matter the cost, and again, I was taking that from him by fighting for his daughter instead of letting him do it.

  “They want to kill me and bond with her,” I replied calmly, looking him in the eyes.

  “No!” Ruby exclaimed. “They cannot have my daughter.”

  “I won’t let them have her, Ruby.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, boy,” a deep, gravelly voice called from the forest in front of us. Out stepped one of the oldest vampires I had ever met. He was pale, tall, and had blond hair and blue eyes. Vampires were unlike the children’s stories. They were not undead and could go out in the light. They preferred to stay in the dark because it was easier to catch their prey. They were very much alive and could reproduce just as humans. The similar parts of the stories were that they did drink blood and were unequally fast and strong.

  “What is that?” Archer whispered. His voice wavered slightly, the only sign of the nerves he was feeling.

  “Vampire,” Drew spit out, like the name left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “My prize,” the vampire addressed Sylee. “Please take your hands off the boy.” I ground my teeth together at the insult. Instead of releasing my arm, she held me tighter.

  I turned to her and forced her hands off me. “This will be over soon. I will protect you. I will not let him harm you. Remember do not say a word or move, and stay with Adam. Ruby come stand by your daughter.”

  “Enough!” the vampire yelled.

  I stepped toward the creature that had haunted my dreams just days ago. This time, he would not touch my mate. I would make sure of it. Yes, she drove me insane, but she was an innocent young woman, and he could not have her to defile her.

  “My name is Julio. I challenge you to break your bond with the female.” The vampire spoke the traditional bonding challenge introduction while ogling my mate, who stood stoically next to Adam and her mother. She had her arms crossed, glaring daggers back at the vampire.

  “My name is Carmon. I accept your challenge. You will not have my mate. She is mine,” I responded heatedly. No one could take what was mine, even if I didn’t want it.

  The vampire lunged at me. I had never met one so fast, but I was still faster. Sidestepping Julio’s attack, I placed a well-aimed punch to his ribs. The vampire was moving too quickly, and had underestimated my speed, so that he could not stop or dodge my attack. His ribs broke under my fist, and it was a very satisfying feeling. I smirked as Julio roared. His next attacks were fast, but sloppy from rage, and I defended myself easily.

  Finally, Julio got his emotions under control and sent a kick out at me. I didn’t move quick enough and Julio’s leg crashed into my right hip throwing me off balance. Julio’s next move was an effective leg sweep that sent me to the ground, hard. I couldn’t believe I’d messed up and I was furious with myself. With the breath knocked out of me, it took a second to recover.

  Roll! One of my brother’s commanded. I couldn’t tell which one it was. All I knew was that I had to obey.

  I rolled to my right just before the vampire brought a large tree branch down where I lay only a half second prior. Jumping to my feet, I kicked out at Julio’s head. I grinned when I heard his teeth slam together, and the scream that came afterwards from biting his tongue. My challenger was furious with the hit, and the next few exchanges of blows left my lip bleeding and gave me a few fractured ribs. My opponent wasn’t any better off. In fact, he was worse off than I was. At least I could see. Julio had a swelling eye and a bleeding cut above the other.

  It was stupid, and I cursed myself for it later, but I chanced a glance at Sylee. She had both hands covering her mouth, but looked like she was handling the situation okay. I sidestepped Julio’s next attack, but missed signs for the following one. I found my back against a tree before my attacker slammed his fist into my chin. I saw stars and couldn’t focus until I felt the pain of teeth biting into my neck. It wasn’t my first bite from a vampire, but it had been a while since my last. Julio pulled blood from me, making me weak and dizzy. I heard Sylee scream my name and vowed the vampire was going to die immediately for causing my strong mate such distress. I put all the energy I could into my leg as my knee found the vampire’s manhood. Julio was definitely not expecting that and crumpled, allowing me to gain my balance and take a few breaths. My jaw ached from his punch, and I was almost positive it was broken.

  “You cannot beat me, no matter who your mother is,” Julio gasped.

  My body froze in shock. How did this vampire know who my mother was? Julio must have watched the confusion pass over my face.

  “Your blood tastes like them. Especially her.” Julio sneered and advanced on me.

  His next attack was a tackle I was expecting. It sent both of us tumbling down a hill into the pond below. Julio landed on top of me and held my head under the water. I had been waiting for Julio to make that mistake. I was strongest in water and could now finish him off. Using my power, I created a sword from the water and directed it with my immersed hand. Julio’s head landed in the water a second later.

  My own head broke the surface of the water just seconds later, and I breathed fresh air. I hurried from the water, and the multitude of snake and rat like creatures that were already on their way to finish off the remains. I climbed back up the hill slowly due to injuries sustained to a leg during our roll down the hill.

  Heal me, Jeff. I have a feeling this isn’t over, I sent my healer.

  Already on it, Cal.

  When I crested the hill, I saw Sylee in the same spot I’d left her. Her chin was held high and she was observing the smaller creatures that had come to watch. Most looked like normal animals you would run into in other forests, but experience had taught me that they were a lot more intelligent and deadly. Not all the creatures in the forest were harmful, but the ones gathered around this fight were. No decent creature would come to watch such a thing.

  Adam gripped one of her arms. She must have tried to move toward me at some point. Sylee didn’t seem to notice his hand on her which meant he held her lightly. Good, I didn’t want her harmed. Though, why that should bother me was anyone’s guess.

  Release her, I sent Adam.

  Adam looked over to the hill and whispered to Sylee, whose head whipped up and a look of relief spread over her face. She gave me a warm smile as I approached. Her smile changed to concern as she noticed my limp.

  “How badly are you hurt?” she asked quietly, stepping closer to me. I knew she was concerned, but her question was inappropriate for this particular spot, and was not one I would answer. I sent her what I hoped was a warning look, and she nodded to me that she understood. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  You’re right, Cal, Jeff’s voice was back. You’ve got another challenger coming forward.

  “Mate,” I whispered and she looked up at me. Jeff had obviously worked on the injured jaw first. “I have another challenger. You need to remain by Adam and your mom.”

  “Yes, Commander. Good luck,” she said as she stepped back to her place between Ruby and Adam.

  “Sylee, may I ask a favor of you?” She nodded, worry crossing her face. I didn’t know how she would react to my request, and we didn’t have much time before the next challenger stepped forward, but I needed to ask her. “I could use some blood. It will give me energy and I can heal faster. May I have some of yours?”

  She hesitated. “Okay.” I could feel the nervous air around her, and truth be told, I was a little nervous, too, to drink from her again, but I needed a boost. I had made some poor decisions in that last fight, and my body had paid the price. Whether she had meant to or not, my mate had weakened me out there just by being present. The least she could do was strengthen me now.

  “It won’t hurt you. Just like last time,” I said, leaning forward. I tilted her head so I had access to the left side of her neck. Quickly, before the next chall
enger could oppose, I bit into her and started to drink her blood. She tasted delicious, and just like the time before, she went limp in my arms. I cut myself short after a few deep swallows. When I pulled back, her eyes slowly fluttered open. I was shocked by how beautiful I found them. Closing myself off to those weakening thoughts, I stepped back.

  “Do as Adam instructs you, and remember the rules.” I pushed her back and turned to face my next challenger. A demon this time. I could tell by the eyes. They were entirely black except for the red pupils. Otherwise, he was humanoid with dark hair and olive toned skin.

  “My name is Haberoth. I challenge you for the female,” the demon announced.

  I was barely done with my acceptance of the challenge when Haberoth attacked. Sylee’s blood was already doing its job and I was fast enough to dodge it. This fight was not as long, though I did receive plenty of injuries. All were minor, but added up. Jeff had not had enough time to tackle many of my previous injuries, so I in a great deal of pain when my fight with Haberoth ended. Healings were not allowed during a fight, so when it was over, Jeff hurried to start again while I walked to stand before the creatures of the forest.

  “If there are any more challengers, let them come forward now. Otherwise, we will walk through this forest in peace,” I announced to those crowded around us.

  One more vampire stepped forward. He was still young, and I suspected this new challenger wanted to take advantage of an injured opponent. My injuries looked dreadful, but did this new challenger no good. The fight was over in minutes.

  “There are no more challengers. Everyone go home,” I ordered the crowd.

  Keep her beside you until they are all gone, I sent Adam.

  Jeff walked up to me as the crowd was dispersing. He took my hand in his and I could feel his power coursing through my body. Jeff was unlike other Light. He could heal whether he was touching his patient or not. The Light always had to be in contact with their patient. I knew Jeff would be able to heal me faster with touch, but I had also lost a lot of blood from bites and scratches. I would need rest to finish recovering. At least we would now be safe in the forest for the remainder of our time there.