The Essential Elements: Boxed Set

by Elle Middaugh

  “Go to hell,” she rasped as she tore her hand from his grasp. “Stay away from Valerie, and stay away from me. We want nothing to do with you and your evil games.”

  His brows knitted together and his lips thinned as he crossed his arms. “Evil games? Is that what you think this is?”

  “It’s what I know it is!” Marge grabbed my arm tighter than a vice and yanked me next to her. “Leave us alone. And I mean it.”

  He sighed. “I’ll leave you alone, Margerie, if that’s what you wish, but whether I stay away from my granddaughter is completely up to her.”

  “Not if I can help it,” she said as she backed us into the woods.

  He smiled sympathetically. “My darling girl, I don’t believe that you can.”

  He then turned and disappeared into the shadowy trees as Marge ran frantically in the opposite direction, dragging me along behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Marge didn’t try to talk to me that night.

  I didn’t even know if there are words for what needed to be said. Words for explaining what had happened or for how to carry on from there. Life seemed to be the hair-splitting edge of a sword that we all walked on, and conversation was like the breeze. One wrong word uttered, and it gusted you off balance.

  Marge had never been phenomenal with words, anyway.

  That’s probably why a history book was slid under my door that morning with a note taped to it. Carving Earth: A History of Influence. I recognized it from her shelf of old, dusty, leather-bound tomes.

  Valerie,

  I can’t adequately express what I have to say, especially compared to the silver tongue of my father. So I need you to read this book. I’ve marked the section that’s important.

  - Marge

  I was sure it was an important chapter. Really, I was. But after a restless sleep of recounting the previous night’s events in fluid detail, I’d woken up late. It was a quarter till eight. I had five minutes before Nicholai would pull into the drive, and I needed every one of those minutes to make myself even remotely presentable.

  I didn’t know if Marge was around or not, but I didn’t want her trying to stop me, inadvertently getting into it with Nicholai again. So, I rushed out the door right on time, regardless of the fact that my hair was still dripping wet from my quick shower and that I had zero makeup on. I was lucky I’d even had time to slip into jeans and a hoodie.

  He was leaning on the driver’s side door of an expensive-looking black car, arms folded across his chest, a warm smile spread across his lips. “Good morning, darling.”

  I smiled back. “Morning.”

  I climbed into the passenger seat as he reentered the driver’s. He slid the shifter into reverse and grinned at me before directing his attention behind us. “How’re you doing this morning?”

  I knew he was referring to the night before, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to get back into all that. I’d been forcing myself not to think on it at all, so I said, “I’m fine. Really.” And I meant it. Because I was fine, as long as I wasn’t dwelling.

  “Fair enough,” he conceded as we backed out of the driveway and entered the deserted roadway that lead into town. “So let’s cut to the chase then, shall we? What do you already know about me?”

  I sighed. “Marge told me I was never to speak of you, or Alana, though I don’t know why. She did tell me that you were an Earth Elemental, but after last night, I think that’s the understatement of the year.”

  He couldn’t seem to contain the laughter that escaped his lips. His eyes remained on the road as he shook his head. “I’m very old, Valerie. Because of this, I hold great power.”

  Intrigue took over and I raised an eyebrow. “How old?”

  Both of his brows raised in return and he glanced at me. “About two millenniums…give or take a few centuries.”

  My eyes had to have been bugging. One thousand years was a long, long time. But two? Was that standard? I’d only just begun to wrap my mind around the idea of being a supernatural myself, but the timeframe we were talking about here was flabbergasting. My grandfather had likely been alive before Christ... Dear lord.

  He glanced at me. “You’re surprised.”

  I choked out a laugh. “Of course I’m surprised! You’re my grandfather, and you’re older than dirt, but you don’t look a day over thirty!”

  “I’ll try to take that as a compliment,” he muttered through a smirk.

  “Will I be that old someday?”

  “You could be,” he replied with a smile. “Of course, things are very different nowadays. Who knows how harsh this world will be in the future? I cannot even begin to predict our longevity under current politics.”

  That had my brows lowering. “Current politics?”

  Nicholai shrugged. “Leadership is an ever-changing wave in a sea of anarchy.”

  “I think I understand where Marge’s speaking in riddles comes from…” I muttered.

  He sniffed, almost laughing. “Most plainly, Valerie, the authority will one day change. Whether or not it’s for the benefit of our kind will be the issue. I’d like to sway those chances in our favor.”

  “And that’s the crux of this entire disagreement, isn’t it?”

  He merely smiled, and we continued the rest of the drive in silence until he pulled the car into an empty space outside Billy’s. I was sure I was at least partially right. Whatever his idea of alternative authority was, Marge was clearly against it, and I needed more information about it.

  We made our way inside and found a quiet corner table to nestle into. There were only two other occupied tables on the inside, and they’d already been served. I had barely thirty seconds to glance at the menu before a skinny woman in her mid-thirties approached us and asked for our drink order.

  “Coffee, please,” Nicholai responded with a gentle confidence that had me secretly marveling at him again. The waitress tucked her lips in and blushed.

  I licked my lips as her gaze drifted over to me. “I’ll take a cup of hot tea, please.”

  She smiled kindly. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

  Nicholai eyed the menu with interest for another minute before dropping it to the table and folding his hands under his chin. “Decided what you’re having yet?”

  I’d been looking, but hadn’t really been paying attention. I was too busy observing my grandfather to notice what breakfast options they offered. I wasn’t sure what to expect of him, and as such, I was a bit hesitant to take my eyes off his every move. Quickly, I glanced down at the menu, relieved to find a variety platter that would take all the guesswork out of my decision.

  I pointed to the option. “Breakfast variety platter,” I said matter-of-factly. “You?”

  “The egg and cheese sausage biscuits, I believe.”

  The waitress arrived a few minutes later with our steaming cups and asked if we were ready to order. I gave her my choice first, and Nicholai followed right after.

  “Thank you”—he smiled and glanced at her nametag—“Natalie.”

  She blushed furiously this time, and I had to fight the urge to laugh at her. Perhaps it was just years and years and years of sweet-talking shining through when he opened his mouth? Either way, she was already smitten.

  When she backed away to place our orders with the kitchen, my eyes resettled on my grandfather. “So, are you a Modernist or a Traditionalist?”

  “Neither.” He cupped one hand around his chin and eyed me curiously.

  “So, you’re unaffiliated?” I asked, a bit confused.

  “No, I am,” he said as he moved a few fingers over his mouth. “Just not with them.”

  My eyebrow rose. “There are more than two parties?”

  He smiled and removed his hand from his face. “Of course, darling. There are smaller, more radical factions in every political landscape. I’m more of a Green Party member, to compare it with human government.”

  Hm. “So, what’s this party called? And what do you st
and for that’s aligned with neither of the larger organizations?”

  He eyed me closely. “It’s currently more of a movement than a party. Traditionalists wish to live their lives in secret, apart from the humans. Modernists wish to live their lives in secret, amongst humans. Our philosophy is that we shouldn’t have to live in secrecy at all, regardless of the extent of human interaction.”

  I gasped, and when I found my voice, it was barely a whisper. “So you want exposure? The exact thing I was nearly killed for? I’ll bet the farm that that’s a very unpopular viewpoint.”

  He hummed his agreement. “Indeed, but we’re gaining steam. What you experienced, though, was so small-scale it’s almost unmentionable. We want mass exposure. Complete and irrefutable.”

  I didn’t want to sound stupid, so I weighed his words carefully before asking any hasty questions. I could see the benefits of living in the open; not having to worry about hiding what you are must be liberating. But why did it need to be so abrupt? It seemed to me that easing the world into the idea would be less problematic.

  “When?”

  He grabbed the ceramic mug and leaned back in his chair. After a quick sip he said, “Unpopular as the idea is to the mainstream, it’s still gaining velocity. More and more are opening their minds to the idea each and every day. Ideally, we’d reveal ourselves today if we could. Right this moment, even.” He paused to take another sip of his coffee. “But we don’t yet have the support. If we keep gaining numbers as we are, I’d say in another hundred years or so we could accomplish our goal.”

  “Another hundred years?” I still couldn’t grasp the fact that I, myself, would more than likely still be around for that.

  Nicholai shrugged. “It’s not much in the grand scheme of things. However, if we were able to gain the support of, say, the Elemental youth, we could spread the cause like wildfire. Young people don’t understand how much political power they could wield if they merely organized and took a stand. We could be living in freedom within a handful of years if that were the case.”

  The waitress deposited our breakfasts and promised to return to check on us in a few minutes. I cut and stabbed a few squares of pancake as I mulled around all the information I’d garnered.

  I glanced at my grandfather, trying to stare as deeply into his eyes as I could to somehow read his mind. It didn’t work, obviously, which meant I was left with no option but to question him further.

  “You want me to join your movement, don’t you? To help gain the support of young Elementals like myself.”

  He smiled wide, despite himself. “I very much do, yes.”

  I didn’t see anything wrong with his beliefs or aspirations at face value, but there was too much I didn’t know or understand about too many things nowadays. I couldn’t just agree to join, not yet—especially since I didn’t understand the most important question of all:

  “Why does Marge hate you so much? Why is she so against your cause?”

  I wasn’t sure if I expected honesty, or if I’d have even known how to discern the truth from a lie, anyway, but either way, I wanted to hear his response.

  He sighed heavily. “Where do I start? Margerie…she’s disliked me for a very, very long time.”

  I couldn’t help myself. “How old is Aunt Marge?”

  “I married Alana after I’d been alive for nearly a millennium and a half. I was something of a restless youth. A bit of a playboy, I guess. It took me a while to settle down enough to…settle down.”

  He didn’t seem very interested in his breakfast food. The coffee, on the other hand, needed to be refilled. Luckily, the waitress chose that moment to come by with a steaming pot and topped him off. He thanked her, then his focus drifted inwardly once more.

  “Alana came from the prestigious line of Ida. She possessed the Gift.” He took a sip of the jet black drink and cringed when it burnt his tongue. I wondered what it felt like.

  “What was Alana’s extra power?” I asked. I knew Fire was an automatic given.

  “She was Fire and Fire. The same combination as every Gifted Elemental since the beginning. At the time, Elementals didn’t interbreed, so we were the first. It didn’t matter to me. I was in love and ready to start a family. Margerie was born almost immediately after, and Amelia only a year after that. It wasn’t until a later, darker phase in my life that I became seriously involved with a group of Elementals called the Elite. It was because of them, and the passive nature of Alana’s powers, that I became the ultimate demise of my wife.”

  I gasped involuntarily. So, Nicholai had somehow killed Alana? No wonder Marge hated him.

  “So, to answer your original question, Margerie is close to five hundred years old.”

  I shook my head to try and stifle the shock. In my moment of distraction, I noticed Chase enter the dining room. He glanced around, and relief washed across his face the moment he laid eyes on me. Then his eyes drifted to Nicholai. He stared at him for a few seconds before looking back at me, but made no motion to approach us. Instead he sat down by himself a few tables away and immersed himself in a menu.

  I was torn. A big part of me wanted to rush over to him and wrap my arms around his neck in a vicious, asphyxiating hug, but the other part of me was dying to hear more of Nicholai’s story.

  Biting my lip, I decided Chase could wait. Breakfast with Nicholai was probably just about over, and I needed each minute I had to get to know him better.

  “So these Elites, what’s their deal?”

  Nicholai licked his lips and dropped his gaze to the table. “They were extremists. They wanted mass exposure, as I still do, but they wanted it at the cost of humanity. Humans were considered lesser beings and were to be used as nothing more than slaves. Elementals would then rule the world. Basically.”

  “And…you were on board with this? At least, at some point?”

  He nodded. “Yes.” A look of shame plagued his features. “I was certainly old enough to know better, but when you never really age, you feel sort of invincible, like you can do whatever you want, because the rules and consequences don’t apply to you. The very idea of such power intoxicated me.”

  Nicholai lowered his coffee cup and pinched the bridge of his nose. I glanced at Chase, who was placing his order with our waitress, then back to my grandfather. Our hour was nearly up.

  “So, how did Alana die, then?” I asked. This was a crucial piece to the puzzle, or at least to understanding Marge’s point of view. Her opinion meant a lot to me, so I at least needed to understand, even if I didn’t end up following suit myself.

  He ran a hand through his silky blond hair and sighed. “The Elites needed sheer Elemental power in order to force their way into the open. Many more conservative Elementals stood in the way and we alone didn’t have the strength to overpower them. They got it in their heads that, as a Gifted, duel-wielding Elemental, Alana could overpower the others. Under the heavy pressure of their influence, I…I pushed her too far…” He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard. “It killed her.”

  “Oh my god…” I breathed almost inaudibly.

  He nodded. “Margerie blames me for the death of her mother. I don’t resent that, because I blame myself as well, but she thinks I’m still pushing the agenda of the Elites. I’m not, of course. Since Alana’s death, I woke up. I realized that exposure still needed to be the end result, but that theirs was not the path I needed to tread to get there.”

  He smiled faintly and glanced at his watch. “My time is up for now, darling. Being who I am unfortunately includes a hefty workload and a strict agenda.” He rose to his feet and downed the last of his coffee. “I hope I was able to satisfactorily answer all of your questions, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to show you who I really am. I’d like to get to know you, too, of course. Perhaps we could grab dinner some evening this week?”

  I nodded enthusiastically and stood up, too. “I would like that.”

  “Excellent,” he said with a wide grin, before droppin
g a hundred dollar bill to the table. I’m sure our breakfast was barely a quarter of the cost, but he seemed completely unconcerned.

  We embraced and he motioned to escort me out the door, but I shook my head. “I’m going to meet up with a friend, actually,” I said. “I don’t need a ride, but thank you.”

  He bowed and nodded. “Very well. I’ll see you soon, darling.”

  I waved as my grandfather disappeared through the door, then immediately directed my attention toward Chase—his table was empty. Moving curiously through the nearly empty dining room, I made my way toward the glass doors that lead to the outdoor deck seating. Sure enough, he was out there.

  As a Fire Elemental, he was as unfazed by the cold.

  I pushed through the doors and walked over to where he leaned out across the banister, staring intently at the river below. When he saw me and our eyes met, all the devastation from the night before came rushing back. Wordlessly, he slid his arms around my waist and squeezed me tight against him, burying his face in my hair.

  Tears escaped and blazed down my cheeks before staining into the shoulder of his long-sleeved tee. He squeezed me tighter and ran his fingers through my hair. “You’re okay,” he whispered assuredly; I wasn’t sure which one of us he was trying to convince. “It’s okay.”

  I nodded into his now tear-soaked shoulder, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up until he lifted my chin and forced me to. His electric blue eyes blazed into mine, searching for something, but I didn’t know what. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say or feel or do.

  He swallowed hard. “They’re okay. Holden and Cade. Holden’s at school. I think Cade stayed home today.”

  The relief of hearing those words was enough to bring on another wave of sobs.

  Chase stroked my hair and continued talking, his voice low and comforting. “Our friends are all okay, Val. You don’t have to worry about them.”

  I took a shaky breath. “Charlene? Sienna? Jay—”

  “All of them,” he said, and I could hear the tiny smile in his voice. “People did die last night, but not them. Thank god…”