The Essential Elements: Boxed Set

by Elle Middaugh

  All of this, of course, was happening overtop of the extreme chaos caused by starting an Elemental battle in the midst of high-school-aged human beings. They were like a stampeding herd of banshees, shrieking as they darted in every which way except closer to us.

  Holden, Charlene, Sienna, and Boone worked quickly to somehow calm the humans and herd them peacefully toward their cars, while Chase and Jay rushed to join the fight. To my utter surprise, they stood across from Cade, not beside.

  Jay shook his head. “Not like this, man. This isn’t how we handle things.”

  “It is now,” Cade seethed through clenched teeth. “Get out of our way or consider yourself a casualty.”

  Chase growled and lit Cade’s ammunition on fire. Xavier doused the flames with his rain. Jay countered Xavier’s efforts by pushing the downpour back to a light drizzle. Chase lit the trees on fire again, but Cade still launched them, blazing across the night like ominous beacons. Everyone ducked and sprinted in different directions.

  Henrie wasn’t able to contain Nicholai, but Chase and Jay, who weren’t Earth Elementals, he could ensnare. They froze, feet sinking into the mud, rooted in place against their will. When Cade turned his weapons on them, I knew I could no longer stand stupidly by and watch.

  I ran to them, but before I got anywhere near, power surged from my palm in one rapid, all-encompassing motion. Suddenly, no one dared move. Every razor-sharp line of rain was frozen solid, stilled midair.

  As I directed my attention and anger back to Cade and his family, all the frozen razorblades angled themselves in the Landston’s direction. I took a step forward, curious to see if the ice might cut me as I suspected, but it merely brushed my cheek like a feather. Cade followed suit and took a heavy step toward me. Upon contact with the ice, his arm and face immediately displayed slashes that started to trickle blood. Quickly, he stepped back and glared at me.

  “So you’ve chosen sides, huh?” he asked derisively. He practically spat poison in my direction.

  There were so many different ‘sides’, I couldn’t keep up with them all. “I’m not on anyone’s side, Cade. That said, I won’t allow you to murder my friends. Not if I can help it.”

  “You might stop us from killing your friends, girl,” Henrie said gruffly. “But mark my words, one day your grandfather will pay for the things he’s done in his life. There will be nothing in all of heaven or hell that will keep you from stopping us.”

  “No,” Nicholai said in a commanding tone. “You mark my words, boy…”

  I didn’t know if the ice would affect Jay in the same gentle way as it did me since we were both Waters, but I did know that he couldn’t have possibly been responsible for melting it back into a liquid drizzle. Only a Fire could have warmed it, and it sure as hell wasn’t me. That meant Chase had unfrozen it, inadvertently allowing my grandfather—and everyone else—freedom of motion once more. But why?

  No one but Nicholai moved, however. He walked between Jay and Chase and stopped just outside of striking distance from Henrie. “You will never have the vengeance you so desperately seek, because you will never defeat me. I have been alive for over two thousand years, and you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever matching my power, not even with the strength of the entire town behind you. Do you understand?”

  “Oh, I understand the situation perfectly, Nicholai. I think it’s you who doesn’t adequately understand. Overconfidence and underestimation are a lethal combination.”

  Henrie lunged, his fist striking so quickly that no one, not even Nicholai, expected it. As blood dripped from the split in Nicholai’s lip, Cade drove a tree-arrow straight into his chest. It should’ve killed him in an instant. I waited with the sickening knowledge that I’d just witnessed another brutal Elemental murder, but nothing happened. The arrow didn’t even break his skin. Cade pushed harder and harder, and even Henrie added his own strength to the equation, but still nothing happened.

  “You’re not very knowledgeable about fighting or killing, are you?” Nicholai asked them through a smug grin, brushing the tree away like a twig. “Let me fill you in on a little secret, just for pity’s sake.” He knelt down to the ground and scooped up a handful of dirt, inhaling the sweet smell of it. “You can never kill an Earth Elemental with Earth.”

  With a terrorizing roar, Nicholai then smashed the ground into a jagged maze of jutting stones and gaping a fissures. The destruction spanned for probably a quarter of a mile, demolishing every house on the block, including Holden’s and Charlene’s. I prayed that no one was inside a single one of them as the debris sank into bottomless pits all around, though I was acutely aware of how unlikely that was.

  Xavier hung by his fingers from a rocky ledge, while Henrie and Cade stood gaping on the same untouched ground.

  “You see?” Nicholai asked. “An Earth cannot kill another Earth. No matter how hard he tries, it simply cannot be done. The earth favors each of them and will not betray either. Now, a Water Elemental on the other hand…”

  Everyone’s eyes darted to Xavier. Jay and I were Waters, too, but somehow everyone knew exactly who Nicholai was referring to.

  “No!” Henrie cried as Xavier threw all his strength into lifting himself up onto the ledge. He fought hard against gravity, and we all heaved a collective sigh of relief as he somehow reached the top and sank onto shaky knees.

  Nicholai raised his brows approvingly. “Very good, boy. Admirable effort. Just not good enough.” Suddenly the entire ledge broke away in a landslide and pulled a screaming Xavier down into the black dusty nothingness.

  I couldn’t think, only react. It was like my body instantaneously switched over to autopilot. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, the power burst from me in a surge that was almost electric. My reflexes were so swift that the rest of the world seemed to suddenly jolt into slow motion.

  I could see it all contained in a pinhead of time. Henrie trying to will the Earth to stay intact, every muscle of his body straining against the effort of it. Some of the crumbling stones even pieced themselves back together, but Xavier was still falling. Cade, petrified in place by shock, a look of sheer terror fossilized on his face. Nicholai waiting in calm, calculating expectation for the inevitable demise.

  Then I saw the water rushing, felt it rising from where the river had once peacefully flowed. The clock ticked by slowly, all deep breaths and long exhales, but the water raged even faster, ever closer. I knew if I could just get it there fast enough, if he could hit the surface of this raging river instead of the jagged points of the rocks, he’d be safe. The tumultuousness of the waters would almost instantly kill a normal person, and maybe even a non-Water Elemental, but luckily for us, Xavier was neither of those things.

  Time accelerated back up to speed just as Xavier was swallowed by the flood of white water. Confusion crossed each of their faces at varying levels of severity, and for good reason. One second Xavier was plummeting into the rocky abyss, the next he was plunging into the cascading river-from-nowhere.

  Nicholai realized what had happened far sooner than any of the others. As he stared me down, I could tell he was weighing the consequences of his subsequent actions very carefully. He could collapse what remained of the gorge and essentially bury Xavier alive, still achieving the initial end goal but sacrificing any hope of my loyalty in the process. Or he could allow Xavier to float away down the river, still proving how easily Elementals could kill each other, while keeping the possibility of my cooperation intact.

  He smiled mischievously from me to the others. “Apparently my granddaughter has seen fit to spare your son’s life, Henrie. Do not ever forget that moment of mercy, because I will not allow it to happen ever again.”

  Grateful couldn’t even begin to describe the look Cade gave me upon hearing those words. I couldn’t help it; I felt hopeful. It gave me faith that maybe I hadn’t yet lost him entirely.

  Nicholai straightened his posture and cracked his neck with the jerk of his chin.
“Regardless, my point remains the same. An Earth can effectively destroy non-Earth Elementals. Same story for any of the other three elements. Lesson learned.”

  Before anyone could relax from the tension of the last act, a new scene unfolded. Holden and the crew had apparently amassed the rest of Center Allegheny’s Elementals during our little episode, and they now stood at least two hundred strong. Not to be outdone, Nicholai had, at some point, called for reinforcements of his own. I didn’t know who they were or where they’d come from, but they were dressed in tight black outfits and carried weapons like freaking ninjas or something.

  “Time for the test,” Nicholai muttered with mild amusement.

  Cade roared and led the attack, his voice hoarse and tearing, but the others quickly joined in creating the most horrific sound I’d ever heard, a battle cry, primal and desperate and fierce.

  The scene soon became something out of a science fiction movie, with the most erratic natural disasters occurring all at once. Chunks of earth went flying as boulders crashed all around like meteorites or bombs, landslides and earthquakes effectively keeping everyone off balance. Tornadoes sucked up enemies and pummeled them with debris while gusting people over ledges. Water rose from the remains of the river and tidal-waved over everything like a steamroller as hail tore from the night sky like bullets. Fire erupted within every remaining tree and blade of grass. Fire Elementals heated some of the water to the boiling point while withholding heat from other parts, causing it to freeze. Icy daggers darted through the air, impaling random Elementals while fireballs launched and spread wildly across whatever they landed on.

  It felt insane to believe what my eyes swore they saw. More blood. More death. It was horrendous, and I didn’t have a clue what to do. No instincts had kicked in to save the day this time.

  Suddenly, Elise’s hand was around my arm. I had no idea where the hell she’d even come from. “We have to go! Now!”

  “What do you mean?” I shrieked as fretful snowflakes began forming in midair. “Can’t you see what’s happening? We have to do something!”

  She shook her head and tugged me through the trees, her blonde hair stinging me in the face. “If there was something you could’ve done, you’d have done it by now. Come on! Before we both end up killed in the crossfire!”

  I ducked under limbs and stumbled over rocks and roots. “Where are we going?” I shouted nervously as I blocked stray branches and spider webs with my free hand. Things were freezing over in my wake, I was fairly sure of it. With fear came the freeze, and I’d already created snow back there.

  Elise forced me into a faster run. It was dark and I had no idea where I was going, but when the path suddenly became smooth and the vegetation no longer stung my face despite the fact that we were still running through the woods, I had to assume that Elise was using her Earth powers to clear the way for us. Silver linings, I supposed.

  “There’s a safe house about twenty miles from here,” she said. “My people own it. We can hide out there until the chaos dies down some.”

  “What if it never dies down?” I huffed as I ran. “That was mass exposure at its finest…”

  “You’re telling me,” she muttered, turning her head over her shoulder so I could hear her. “I said when it dies down some. There is no reversing this kind of damage. My people will try their damnedest, but they will fail. Our only option is to fight this one step at a time.”

  “Fight? Where were your people during that fight?” I asked, jerking a thumb in the direction we’d just fled from.

  “They’re on their way now,” she said matter-of-factly. “Come on. We’ll discuss this more once we’re safe and secure. For now, we need to conserve our breath.”

  I caught the drift and shut the hell up. We ran until I couldn’t run any farther, when the stitch in my side threatened to rip me apart, and then we walked, never stopping. I thought Elise was afraid we were being followed. Maybe we were.

  With talking no longer an option, I couldn’t keep my mind from vividly rehashing all the finer details of what had transpired that night. Chase helping me reel in my powers for the second time. My gradual realization of how much I needed him around. My grandfather revealing his thoughts on my inevitable fate. Another offer to join his cause. Cade and his family attacking, carelessly exposing Elementals in front of humans. Xavier falling from that cliff, and me somehow managing to save him in time. The all-out war that ensued when each side decided to call in back up. Me, fleeing with Elise while my friends and family risked their lives.

  What was the point of it all? What did it all boil down to? Where was I supposed to fit in? What was I supposed to do?

  Black and bleak and stark silent, the night wore on and on. Until I thought it’d never end. Until I thought it might consume me. Until I wondered if I wasn’t already dead. Until eventually…it didn’t continue on any more. In time, day broke out across the morning sky, a sailor’s warning painted in red.

  That’s when the safe house finally came into view. More like an abandoned cabin, it was tucked tightly into the trees, miles away from any other souls. The roof looked to be on the verge of imploding, and the walls had moss and weeds growing in between the logs.

  I took a shaky breath that had more to do with apprehension than exhaustion, though I was certainly feeling the latter as well.

  I didn’t know what lay ahead of me, literally or figuratively, but as I climbed the creaking steps and approached the threshold of this strange new place, there was one thing I knew for certain…

  I would soon find out.

  ELEMENTAL LIES

  Chapter One

  I was sprinting, my lungs and muscles burning with the extreme effort it took to sustain my rapid pace.

  It was early morning, the sun just barely giving off a dull gray glow as it lazily awoke. Birds weren’t yet chirping. Rodents weren’t yet scurrying. The forest was quiet aside from my heavy footfalls and labored breathing.

  Trees and undergrowth lined the little path for miles in every direction. They reached at me with their thorny fingers, trying to slip me up and slow me down, but I’d been practicing and dodged them almost effortlessly. Harsh winter wind scratched and scraped at my throat with each inhale. My muscles shuddered under the strain.

  I wouldn’t be able to keep it up for much longer, and luckily I didn’t have to. By that point, the safe house wasn’t far.

  As the dilapidated little cabin came into view, I pushed myself even harder, each footfall jolting through my legs like lightning. When I finally crossed the invisible finish line, I bent over to catch my breath. Sweat trickled under my white-blonde ponytail and glistened on my forehead. A drop slid down my nose and onto the ground. Dehydration and nausea battled for dominance in my exhausted body, and for a second, I thought I might puke.

  Chase poked his head around the side of the house and grinned. “Geez, Val, you look rough.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you, too.”

  His smile broadened. “Defensive maneuvers out back. Come on.”

  I suppressed a mild groan. Training, training, and more training.

  A few months ago, when Elise was rushing me through the woods toward the safe house, I’d wondered if she thought we were being followed. Turned out, we were, but not by whom she might have suspected—not by the enemy.

  My friends Chase and Jay had caught up with us a few days after we reached our temporary sanctuary. Elise was more than suspicious; she was paranoid. A Fire and a Water were exactly what I needed to help me control my newfound abilities—too uncanny. Intel was her expertise, though, and she had nothing on them, so she had no choice but to allow them to stay and help.

  Since then, it had been nothing but unending exhaustion for me. There were so many techniques and methods to learn about being Elemental that it was hard to keep up. Since my level of control had been so inadequate, though, even I agreed that the training was necessary. Between the three of them, I’d learned more in three months
than I probably could have if I’d grown up in the culture.

  As a spy of sorts, Elise took it upon herself to coach me in the fine art of sustaining Elemental life. She taught me survival tactics that the majority of common Elementals wouldn’t have learned, such as immersing myself in one of my two Elements to draw in energy. It essentially rejuvenated every exhausted cell in the body, and how that hadn’t been made common knowledge, I couldn’t begin to guess.

  I assumed Elise trained me so hard because she was family and she cared, but sometimes, after particularly grueling exercises, I wondered if she didn’t just genuinely hate me.

  Jay taught me about my water side, like being able to breathe while submerged. He also helped me to feel more comfortable when using it. Water had been my instinctual element of choice when I was scared or anxious, and as such, I’d distrusted it immensely. It was always slipping out at the worst possible time.

  Chase taught me to understand and better control my fire side—though I was pretty sure my late mother’s fire opal necklace was already aiding greatly in that department. It helped to funnel my fire power into a precise point, rather than letting it explode all over the place.

  Jay was the best teacher, patient and easygoing, but between Chase and Elise, I wasn’t sure who the worst was. They both taught by hammering shit right into your head and throwing your underprepared ass straight to the wolves. It was survival of the fittest at its finest.

  I stared at Chase for a moment longer. My breathing and heart rate hadn’t yet slowed to normal after the run, and my face still felt brush-burn red.

  “Defensive maneuvers…like, now?”

  “Yes, like now!” He shook his head and finally disappeared back around the corner.