“We’ve got to get out of here,” Kaden said as he scooped her up in his arms and cautiously stepped onto the bed. With a glance at Autumn, he nodded to her in what looked like a silent confirmation of his promise to return, then he gingerly lifted Raine through the broken window.
She landed on shaky legs and braced herself against the side of the house as Kaden climbed through and stood next to her.
“There is too much to explain, but you must trust me. First, we need to get you to some water.”
Kaden took her hand and led her around the side of the house when a car pulled into the drive. He quickly pushed her back against the wall. Lizzy stepped from the car and ran to the front porch when she suddenly stopped.
“Kaden?” Lizzy’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “Is that you?”
Kaden held two fingers to his lips and looked to Raine. She pressed against the wall, heavily leaning on Kaden for support. Her body was still too weak to do much more.
Lizzy took a few steps toward the back of the house when the screen door slammed against the wall, cracking under the force.
“Liz. Did you find him?” Elzar asked. Lizzy shook her head and turned her attention to him. She quickly met Elzar on the porch and they disappeared in the house.
“We’ve got to go now,” Kaden said as he lifted her in his arms and made his way to the main road by the way of the trees. “My car isn’t too far from here.” He tried to stay to the trees and out of sight from the house, but Raine knew it was a matter of time before someone spotted them.
They were at the main road across from the Bridal Veil parking when a mighty scream sounded from inside the house. Raine looked over Kaden’s shoulder and saw the screen door smash against the wall, shattering into pieces under the force.
“Kaden, my love.” Raine blinked in the sunlight as Kayla sauntered onto the porch. The seductive overtone wasn’t hard to miss and she tried to squash the flash of jealousy before Kaden read her mind. She knew she failed when he squeezed her tighter to his chest. “It’s been too long, handsome.”
Kaden paused for a brief moment and looked over his shoulder at the same time Kayla thrust her hands in the air. Her eyes began to glow a bright red and her hair lifted off her shoulders in a breeze that emanated from the motion. Flames grew in the palm of her hands and burned white hot.
“Run,” Raine whispered when Elzar and Lizzy joined Kayla on the porch. Kaden turned and ran.
“We need to get to my car.” Kaden crossed the street and made his way through the parking lot heading for his car parked at the far end. Just as he reached for the handle on the door, a fireball flew past his ear, narrowly missing his head, scorching the delicate skin on his neck.
He pulled up short when the roof of his car caught the ball of flame and buckled under the impact. Turning his back, he held Raine firmly against this chest to shield her from the fire that burst skyward. The intense heat singed his shirt, creating holes and exposing his skin that instantly turned red.
Kaden dropped to his knees in pain and clenched his teeth as Raine lifted the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and her marking burned a faint blue moments before a cool mist covered the flames and calmed the fire slightly.
“That’s all I can do,” she said in a weak voice as she dropped her arm back to her sides.
“It’s enough,” Kaden replied. Hunched over, he held Raine close to his chest and scooted past the dying flames engulfing his car to reach the trailhead that would lead them to Bridal Veil Falls.
“I don’t know where they are, but I need to get you to the water.”
With one glance in the direction of the house, Kaden stood and sprinted for the trailhead. Behind him a high-pitched scream caught his attention moments before he felt another ball of heat streak past.
CHAPTER 27
RAINE
Raine screamed when the tree beside them took the full impact of a large fireball, splintering into thousands of wooden shards. It rained down around them as Kaden sprinted past, ducking to take the brunt of wood that fell. Raine was still weak and not much help as Kaden lumbered down the path with her cradled in his arms.
The pathway was slick, narrow, and full of worn rocks smashed into the earth from years of exposure, which made running difficult. She felt the beckoning of the falls ahead and prayed Kaden would make it in time. She needed her strength to help fight and Raine could feel him tiring as he tried to shield her from the onslaught of fire around them.
Kayla ran behind at a fast pace and Raine almost admired her for her stamina and ability to run in stilettos, except she was trying to kill them. Elzar and Lizzy flanked her on either side as they charged after.
“Kaden,” Kayla screamed as another tendril of fire whizzed by their heads. The flame shot from her hands like a cannonball and hit with such force the ground shook and patches of dirt flew into the air. Raine buried her head in Kaden’s shoulder and tightened her hold on his neck as he maneuvered through mud that continually rained down on them. She could still hear the screams of Kayla behind them.
The pathway became increasingly slick as they neared the pool of water at the base of the falls. Moss covered rocks slick with mist from the falls made footholds difficult and slowed them down enough for Kayla to catch up before they reached the base of the falls.
Kaden placed Raine on her feet and stood in front of her as he turned to face Kayla. Raine barely held back the gasp when she saw the holes in Kaden’s shirt and the red puckered skin on his bare back. The marking on Raine’s wrist began to glow in response to the tension in her body. The pull of her element was strong, but she was still too weak to move on her own.
Raine looked over her shoulder to gauge the distance to the water behind her when she noticed an army of unfamiliar faces, save one, appear at the top of the falls. Isa stood in a spraying mist at the crest of Bridal Veil Falls flanked by a wall of large, unfriendly looking faces.
Standing shoulder to shoulder at attention along the crest of the falls, they looked like well-padded football linemen waiting for the snap of the ball before they advanced. Dressed in all black, they stood almost at attention, their faces void of emotion, their eyes blank. Isa stepped in front of them and raised her arms in the air where the ring on her finger started to give off a bright ray of light that penetrated through the misty spray of the falls. Each pair of eyes from the men behind her brightened, glowing with power as they followed the direction of Isa’s hands.
“Stop,” Kayla screamed as she lifted her hands in the air. Suspended over the center of her palms, small flames danced. “Don’t make me do this, Kaden.”
Kaden stilled and reached behind him to place his arms around Raine’s body when she leaned into him and whispered in his ear. Kaden turned his head slightly before he pulled her closer to his back when he realized they were surrounded. He tried to engulf her from behind with his arms as he turned sideways, flicking his gaze from one threat to the other. They were a few feet from the lapping water and Raine felt the overwhelming urge to run headlong into the falls and submerge, but Kaden held her tight. It was hard to hear over the roar of the falls, yet somehow Kayla’s high-pitched voice loomed over the noise.
“You’re taking the wrong side, lover,” Kayla said, the seduction back in her voice. “You and me, we were good together. Don’t let this . . . Look what she did to me!” Kayla screamed, her fury ready to explode from her body. Raine noticed for the first time the sagging skin and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth and the white streak in her hair that started at her temple and extended down the length of her hair.
Kayla raised her hands higher in the air as the flames in her palms grew in intensity and her eyes burned an eerie shade of orange.
“Bring her to us,” Kayla said as she nodded at Elzar and Lizzy who’d come up behind her. “You’re picking a fight you can’t win.”
Raine stood behind Kaden as a million thoughts filtered through her head—one of which was the nature of his relationship with
Kayla, which sent a wave of embarrassment through her when she felt Kaden stiffen under her hands. Raine took a step back, inching away from him. Kaden finally relinquished his hold.
Head for the water and submerge yourself. Raine felt his thoughts in her head. I’ll hold them off.
Why are you helping me? she thought back. What about your mother? Are you not helping her? Are you not with Kayla?
Kaden shook his head at her question and Kayla laughed, apparently misreading his gesture.
“Son, you know what they’ve done to us,” Lizzy pleaded and Kaden’s eyes snapped to his mother. He looked from Kayla to Lizzy as he pushed Raine in the direction of the water. “You know what they are capable of.”
“You did this, Mother.” The venom Raine heard in his voice gave her pause. “You shattered our family the night you killed my father.”
Raine gasped at the revelation and stopped in her retreat. She chanced a peek around Kaden’s shoulder and saw the pain on Lizzy’s face. Kayla held her hands unmoving in the air as she watched Kaden with a sneer. Elzar stepped near Lizzy and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Raine noticed how Lizzy stiffened under his touch, but she didn’t remove his hands.
“Your mother did what was necessary for you. Because of her brave sacrifice, you were able to be free of guardianship for all these years.”
Elzar pulled Lizzy close to his body, pressing her back firmly against his chest as if she was a human shield. He snaked his arm around her neck and tilted her head to the side. With a smile, he dipped his face to her neck and inhaled deeply. The fear on Lizzy’s face broke Raine’s heart and she made a step forward, but Kaden stopped her with a hand to her hip to keep her from passing him.
“My mother did what she wanted, but it wasn’t for me.”
Elzar let out a little laugh and tightened his hold on Lizzy’s neck, cutting off her air supply. Kaden stiffened as Lizzy’s eyes bugged out and she clawed at his arm with her hands.
“No, I suppose it wasn’t,” Elzar sneered. “Too bad she couldn’t hold her end of the bargain, isn’t it?”
“What bargain?” Kaden asked, his voice a mere whisper against the roar of the falls. Elzar smiled and jerked his hands in a swift motion that left Lizzy limp in his arms. He relinquished his hold and her body fell with a thump against the rocks near his feet.
Everything happened at once.
Kaden let out a gut curdling scream and lunged forward at the same time Kayla let loose the fire in her hands. It shot at Kaden but missed when he jumped to the side and landed on the rocks at his feet, seconds before he lunged again in Kayla’s direction.
From above, Raine felt whirling winds and dove for the falls moments before a gust picked her up and slammed her hard into the rocks at her feet. She felt the snap in her wrist when she hit the ground and cried out in pain.
From the crest of the falls, Raine saw Isa’s army moving as one to create a small wind tornado that flew past her, heading for Kaden as he rushed to the body of his mother.
Kayla stood next to Elzar on the rocks and brought her arms above her head once more before she waved them in a circle and Kaden was engulfed by a ring of fire from the ground, followed by a twisting wind above him that pelted him with rocks and flying debris. The heat was so intense, Raine felt it from where she lay on the ground, cradling her broken wrist against her chest.
Kaden tried to jump through the wall of flames, only to be pushed back by the swirling winds repeatedly. Kayla used her powers to push Kaden further away from Raine as the ring of fire closed in around him.
Get to the water. Kaden’s voice filtered through her head and Raine managed to get to her feet. She backed her way into the water, unwilling to take her eyes off Kaden as he fought the onslaught of wind and fire that surrounded him.
Raine stumbled and reached out the catch herself when she was engulfed by a wrinkled set of arms that were surprisingly strong. Isa seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
Raine thrashed and kicked but she was still too weak. Panic bubbled in her chest.
“Kaden,” she finally managed to scream before Isa covered her mouth with a wrinkled hand and pinched her broken wrist with her other. Raine felt a jolt of pain race through her moments before she blacked out.
CHAPTER 28
KADEN
Kaden felt the blood drain from his face when he saw the pain in Raine’s eyes moments before she blacked out.
“Let her go,” he said over the roar of fire around him. He continued to fight off the flying debris, but he could feel each new cut on his face when something connected. The burns on his back blistered with the nearness of the flames.
“She’s coming with us,” Elzar exclaimed. “Bring her to me.”
Isa lumbered toward Elzar as Raine moaned beneath her grasp.
Kaden could feel Raine coming to and he tried to think her fully awake, but his concentration was split between the winds the pummeled him and Kayla’s ring of fire. He watched as Isa grinned and leaned in near Raine’s ear. He heard the words as if Isa had spoken directly to him.
“You, my dear, never stood a chance against Elzar,” Isa whispered in her ear. “I don’t know how you defeated my ring, but it won’t happen again. You’re protected, but that can change.”
Kaden felt the burn on his hand and knew Raine was finally coming around. He filled his mind with defensive maneuvers in hopes that Raine would use a few to get away from Isa when he heard Isa speak again.
“Did you know, my dear, the only way to remove your protection is to kill your Guardian?” Isa let out a wicked laugh when Raine weakly turned her face to watch as Isa spoke. “Such a waste, too. He is a handsome man. I see why Kayla was so taken with him. It’s a shame he used her like he used you. She doesn’t take kindly to those ‘kiss-’em-n-leave-’em’ types.”
Raine’s head snapped up. Her eyes blinked and focused on Kaden. He felt beads of sweat pour down his face as the flames moved closer and tightened around him. The onslaught of wind continued to pelt him from above. The heat was so intense, Kaden fell to his knees on the ground.
Two things happened at once.
The marking on Raine’s wrist burned bright enough to penetrate through the circle of flames, surrounding Kaden in a cocoon of cool air that helped ward off the intense heat.
At the same time, Raine straightened and took a deep breath as she pushed against Isa, digging in with her heels, sending them both further into the water with a splash.
Standing ankle deep in the water, Kaden watched as the water around Raine responded to her and defied gravity as it snaked up her legs, healing cuts and bruises on its ascension up her body. Kaden felt the sudden jolt of energy that surged through Raine as the water continued in the direction of her dangling wrist.
Isa, her arms still wrapped around Raine’s torso, screamed and shoved with her whole body toward the bank with no luck. The surge of power from the water gave Raine the strength she needed to hold her ground, which surprised Isa enough to loosen her hold just a bit.
Raine turned with glowing eyes and lunged at the same time Isa regained her composure and sprang at Raine. In a tangle of arms, they fell into the water and disappeared under the surface.
Once the water engulfed them, the cocoon protecting Kaden dropped and the full force of the flames hit him again. He tried to concentrate on Raine, but the heat was intense and his thoughts were muddled.
The wall of men at the crest of the falls, no longer under the spell of the ring, stood silently watching the cascading water break the surface where Raine and Isa disappeared. Their expressions were still blank.
“I told you, Kaden,” Kayla said as she stepped through the ring of fire and stopped in front of Kaden. The flames receded until low glowing embers encircled Kaden and he exhaled in relief. “You’re on the wrong side.”
“You’re only as valuable as what you have to offer, Kayla.” Kaden knelt on the ground, unmoving, at Kayla’s feet. Her spiked heels dug into the earth as she
ground one heel deeper in the soft mud. “You saw what Elzar did to my mother.”
“She was a fool, Kaden.” Kayla paced the small area as she spoke. “You’ll never win. There are too many of us.”
As if to prove her point, a force of twenty men and women emerged from the trees around the falls, dressed in black and heavily armed with ancient looking swords and battle weapons. Some had blank stares, the same as those on the crest of the falls, while others seethed with hate. None of them had Kaden seen before. As he took in the army surrounding them, Kaden shook his head and opened his mouth to speak when Kayla cut him off.
“She is no match for me,” Kayla said with false confidence. Kaden didn’t miss the fear in her eyes.
“Elzar won’t win,” Kaden replied. She leaned forward until she was a breath away from him and closed her eyes. He resisted the urge to attack as he waited. He was outnumbered and when he made his move, he wanted to make it count.
“You forget the power he holds and the end game, lover.” Kayla opened her eyes and searched Kaden’s face. “He is the reason our people will rise. He has a bigger plan for all of us, a world where we don’t have to hide who we are for fear of the humans.”
Kaden shifted on his knees, watching Kayla cautiously, when he found the bottom of Kayla’s shoe on his shoulder and her hands high in the air with a large ball of flames balanced in the center of her palms.
“You are either with me, with us, or you’re nothing.”
Kayla’s face contorted when a battle cry sounded and she froze.
Kaden looked to the trees and smiled when Eryk stepped from the shadows, flanked by heavily marked warriors just as tall and menacing as Eryk.
Elzar let out a scream of rage and the warriors from both sides advanced in attack. The sound of blades clanging reminded Kaden of the medieval movies he watched as a kid, only these sounds were real and extremely close. Vines around the area grew at an alarming pace. Camille had finally arrived.
Raine (Elemental Series Book 2) Page 19
