We were about to face the wrath of the gods.
Chapter Eleven
Nik suddenly burst out laughing. “You think I care if humans or Elementals dabble in light or dark magic? I’m a god, not some holy beacon of purity. I have powers, but I also have a life of my own, you know. I can’t be bothered with the human realm.”
Ida glared at him. “That’s the whole problem. Just because you’re a god, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about lesser beings.”
Nik rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s a matter of should or shouldn’t, Ida. It’s a matter of do or don’t. Do I care about the human realm? No. Should I care about it? I have no idea, but like I said, I don’t. So, this is pointless.”
What was something this god might actually care about? I was beginning to realize if we wanted his help, we’d have to make it worth his while. We’d have to change his mind, and that wasn’t going to be easy.
Leo’s voice suddenly echoed in my head: Competition.
Shit. I’d forgotten they could read my mind, and I’d had no idea I could read theirs, too.
You can’t, Leo mentally told me in an amused tone. I’m projecting my thoughts into your head. There’s a big difference.
Okay… Like that wasn’t totally weird.
I cleared my throat and tried to get back on track. Competition. Nik cared about competition. If I could play to that, maybe I could get him to care. It certainly couldn’t hurt our case to have the original Elemental gods on our side.
Then it clicked. Ida had called me her champion, the one she’d personally chosen to sponsor in the Elemental war. She wanted them all to choose champions, and maybe they’d be more inclined to do so if it was a competition.
“I have an idea,” I blurted out.
Just like before, those dark and unreadable eyes turned to me.
I cleared my throat. “Why don’t we make this more interesting?”
Nik chuckled. “Euphoria isn’t interesting enough for you, little girl?”
“Not Euphoria—the Elemental war.”
Nik rolled his eyes and turned away as Meg smirked at his side. Taj and Kya grinned while Dru, Leo, and Ida studied us intently. Eve kept her gaze on the ground.
“Yes?” Ida asked, encouraging me to continue.
I licked my lips, hoping some bubble of courage would float to the surface, but it didn’t.
“Let’s make a bet. You all choose a champion to represent you and your element. Whoever personally kills Nicholai wins. So, if I kill him, Ida wins. If Cade kills him, Leo wins, and so on.”
There was a long moment of silence as the gods contemplated my deal.
Taj shrugged. “I think it sounds fun. Are there any rules?”
I nodded. “There would have to be, yeah. Like, no Gifting an unnatural amount of extra power, and no interfering with fate. You simply choose the best champion you can find and watch to see how it all plays out.”
Meg pursed her lips. “I am intrigued…”
Kya crossed her arms and smirked. “I’m sure I can find an Elemental capable of winning such a bet.”
“As can I,” Taj said, his grin spreading into a broad smile.
Leo’s eyes lit up with pride, grateful I’d figured it out, and he winked at me.
“No one is going to beat my champion,” he said, referring to Cade. “He’s had his powers for a while and has superb control over the Earth.”
Ida touched Leo’s face. “Sorry, my love, but Valerie is going to win. She’s the strongest Water and Fire Elemental around, plus she’s emotionally invested in the cause—all excellent traits to help her win.”
“She won’t be the strongest Fire Elemental for long,” Nik muttered.
“Or Water,” Kya agreed, rising to the challenge.
I looked around the group excitedly. “So, it’s a deal? We’re doing this?”
Nik smirked. “Oh, it’s a deal, all right, and my champion is going to wipe the floor with the rest of you.”
Ida clapped her hands excitedly. “Yes! Now, you’re all going to have to work together if you want to overpower Nicholai. He’s been killing and taking power for a long time, and the body count increases every single day.”
“Work together? Fine,” Nik said in a commanding tone, “but when it comes to making the killing blow, it’ll be my champion who wins in the end.”
“No, mine,” Meg argued.
“Mine,” Kya said.
“Mine,” Dru joined in.
“A hundred jewels says my champion wins,” Taj said.
“Ten hundred,” Nik countered. “I still owe the Norse gods from that game of cards. This’ll be how I pay them back.”
“Norse gods?” I blabbered out loud. “Like…Thor and Loki and all that?”
Kya chuckled and shook her head. “That’d be them.”
“They’re real?”
“Are we real?” Taj asked with a sarcastic grin.
“Of course we’re real,” Kya answered for me. “So are the Greek gods, and the Egyptian.”
“And the Chinese and Mayan,” Eve added.
“Yes,” Nik agreed in frustration. “The gods are real, and so is money. If you want us to join this little game of yours, you’re going to have to pay up.”
“Hold on,” Leo said, raising both hands in the air. The ground rolled beneath us, and the sand shifted in a gentle wave. “You haven’t even chosen champions yet. You need to officially name your choices before any jeweled bets get placed.”
Nik cocked his head. “Fine. Where’s this Elemental map you use to keep track of the human realm, Ida?”
“A few islands over in the cave of crystals.”
“Perfect,” Meg said, standing and getting ready to leave. “Send these champions and Elementals home and we’ll choose ours while you see them off.”
“You don’t want to choose any of them?” Ida asked, curious.
Kya pursed her lips then pointed at Sienna. “I’ll choose this one. She’s feisty, if her thoughts are anything to go by, and Wind and Water could make a lethal combination.”
Kya strolled closer, and Sienna held her ground with a tight-lipped half-smile.
“Do you think you’d be brave enough to kill Nicholai if you were given the chance?” Kya asked.
Sienna’s features darkened. “He killed my parents, my aunt and uncle, and some of my best friends. Yes, I’d kill that bastard in an instant.”
Kya’s smirk widened into a devilish grin. “Perfect.”
She reached her hand out, not quite touching the skin, and Sienna’s forehead glowed blue as the magic passed into her body.
When the glow dimmed, Sienna held up her palms and stared curiously at them. One hand formed a wisp that quickly funneled into a whirlwind. The other wisp formed an oversized droplet of water, wavering in the nearby breeze.
“Holy shit,” she muttered. Her face was expressionless, and I had a feeling she was in shock.
“Anyone else?” Ida asked, gesturing to my friends with an encouraging smile.
The remaining gods and goddesses studied Jay, Xavier, and Kale with critical eyes.
“No,” Nik said, shaking his head. He pointed to Jay. “This one was on Nicholai’s side. I don’t trust him to actually kill the guy when it comes down to it.” Then he pointed at Kale. “This one is too timid and soft. I don’t know if he has it in him to kill.” And finally, he pointed at Xavier. “And this one…” He shook his head, like he wasn’t quite sure. “I don’t know if he could handle Fire. No, I’ll choose a champion from the map.”
Dru eyed Jay for a long moment. “It’s a shame this one was once aligned with the wrong team. He would have made a hell of a champion.” Then he turned to Xavier. “I’ll sponsor this one, instead. Double Earth seems to be working well for his little brother. Maybe double Water will work well for him.”
Xavier swallowed hard. “Let’s hope.”
Dru chuckled then held out his hand as a stream of blue magic once again poole
d into one of my friends.
“Whoa,” Xavier exclaimed, tone moving from concern to fascination in just a few seconds. “This is freaking awesome!”
Meg chuckled at him then glanced at Kale and Jay. “Sorry, boys. I think the rest of us are going to choose our champions from the map.”
Kale put up both hands. “No worries here. Nik’s probably right.”
Jay shrugged. “I’m not surprised. I didn’t expect to be immediately trusted.”
“All right, Ida,” Nik said, growing impatient. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
“I’ll see them off,” Leo said to Ida. “Take the gods to the cave and get them started. I’ll be over soon.”
Ida nodded her consent. She turned to leave, and that was when I remembered something.
“Ida, wait!”
She paused, and I caught up to her.
“About calling the dead…” I hesitated, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to ask. “Is there a way to do it without human sacrifice? Especially since I’ll probably just open up the Euphoric realm again—and, speaking of which…are we allowed to come back?”
Ida smiled wide. “Of course you can come back! As champions, you’re technically now demigods, and demigods will always be welcome in Euphoria.”
“Awesome! So, about calling the dead…is it possible?”
“Oh, of course.” She opened her palm and a shiny red apple appeared. “This is one of Eve’s special apples. It’ll do whatever I tell it to, though its effects are short-lived. Anyone who bites into it will have mirror-like access to the afterlife. They are not allowed to enter the realm, but they may look and converse as long as the magic remains.”
When she was finished with the spell, she handed me the fruit.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now you really must be going. Since Nik, Meg, Taj, and Eve are choosing their champions now, you won’t know who they are. You’ll be forced to find them—a hard enough task considering the human realm is huge—and then convince them to join your cause. I know you’ve been training hard and gathering a loyal following, but you won’t actually stand a chance of beating Nicholai unless all eight of the champions join forces as one.”
I nodded, because what else was I going to do? We had a mission, we had an objective, and we were a hell of a lot closer to victory than we’d been before we arrived. Still, my stomach clenched uneasily.
“One more thing, sorry,” I said, stopping her before she turned away. “Nik said Jay might not kill Nicholai if given the chance—does that mean he can’t be trusted?”
Ida shook her head. “I read nothing of the sort in his thoughts. It seems he really has come back to your side, but he is definitely still filled with hurt and confusion. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to be thinking or feeling and, to be honest, I think he needs your guidance and friendship. If he gets that, I think he can be the same Jay he used to be.” She made a brushing motion with both hands. “Now shoo. We all have a lot of work to do before the final showdown with Nicholai. Good luck to you all.”
“Thank you, Ida.” I wasn’t sure if it was entirely appropriate to hug a god or not, but I pulled her into a warm embrace anyway. “For everything.”
She squeezed me back before letting go. “You’re welcome, little dove. I know you’ll make me proud.”
With that, she followed the other gods to the cave of crystals, and I jogged back over to the group to go with Leo.
He waved his hand, creating another giant vine with cushy leaves and flowers, and motioned for us to climb on. When we did, it grew and stretched out across the baby blue sky between the islands. The journey back seemed much shorter than the trip in. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the portal and staring into the forest beyond. The severed head of Madam Lucia still lay on the ground where we’d left it.
Gross.
“Farewell, champions and Elementals,” Leo said with a wave. “Kick some ass.”
We all smiled, and Cade answered for the group. “We will.”
Then just like that, we were through the gash between realms, and the seam was sealed shut behind us.
Chapter Twelve
As soon as things were back to normal, I held the apple out for everyone to see.
“Let’s do what we intended to do from the beginning. Let’s finally get some closure.”
I smiled, took a bite, and then passed the apple to Sienna.
She hesitated for a moment, staring at the fruit in confusion before taking a bite out of it with a loud crunch then passing it to Jay. We went the whole way around the group then we all sat down in a circle.
After a moment, a mirror-like, semitransparent vision filled the air in the middle of our circle. Gray faces appeared then disappeared as the magic of the apple seemingly shuffled through the afterlife in search of the proper souls. It was way more advanced than I was expecting. I figured we’d be stumbling around blind with no real clue how to find Charlene or Sienna’s parents.
But the magic found them easily…and a few unexpected others.
Apparently, since we’d all taken a bite of the apple, the magic saw fit to find us all a dead soul to communicate with. Sienna had her parents, Jay had Charlene, and Cade and Xavier had their mother, Delaney, whom my grandfather had killed. Kale had some guy I’d never met, one who looked a lot like him, and I had…
“Alana?” My voice came out as a whisper. I shook my head. “I mean…Grandma?”
She smiled sweetly and nodded.
Oh my god! I could hardly believe it.
Everyone started talking all at once, and it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. I shook my head and put my hands up.
“Okay, guys, I know this is going to be hard, but we need to take turns. Let’s start with Sienna and her parents then Jay and Charlene since they’re the whole reason we did all of this to begin with. After that we can let Kale talk to his spirit, then Cade and Xavier can talk to Delaney, and I’ll go last.”
Everyone nodded their agreement and then stared at Sienna.
She took a deep breath, and her chin quivered. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” Her voice cracked and she was almost instantly sobbing. Phillipa and Marco had been good friends with my parents when we were growing up, and it hurt me as well to see them like this—lifeless, hollow, gone.
“Shhh, it’s all right, baby girl,” Phillipa cooed. “We’re here.”
“It’s wonderful to see you, sweetheart,” Marco said. His arm was around his wife’s shoulders, and he might’ve had a tear in his eye.
Sienna’s tears were uncontrollable. “I miss you guys so much. I don’t know what to do without you.”
Phillipa smiled. “Of course you do—just live.”
“You say that like it’s easy.” She sniffed.
Marco reached for her, but as realization dawned in his eyes, he slowly lowered his hands. He couldn’t cross realms. He couldn’t touch her.
“It is easy, kiddo,” he said. “Just be the best version of yourself that you can be and know in your heart that your mother and I will always love you. We’ll always be proud of the young woman you’ve become.”
Sienna sobbed even harder. “I don’t know how! I feel so empty without you guys, just a shell of the girl I used to be.”
“You need to find happiness and love,” Marco said with a smile. “That’ll do the trick.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
Phillipa put her hand on Marco’s leg. “Sienna, you’re beautiful on the outside, but you need to remember you’re also beautiful on the inside. Do you remember that boy Devin in junior high who broke your heart?”
“How could I forget?” she muttered with a sour expression.
“He thought you were gorgeous and you adored him, but when you weren’t looking, he moved on to the next pretty face in line. You were crushed.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“And you got it in your head that if you wanted a relationship wit
h a happy ending, you were going to have to be the heartbreaker, not the heartbroken. You decided right then and there that you would never have your heart broken like that again, and you didn’t…because you never let anyone get close enough.”
This time, Sienna stayed silent.
Who knew one single moment of pain could affect the outcome of someone’s entire life?
“Any boy who ever broke your heart was a damned fool,” Marco said, “but don’t allow yourself to stay broken. Show the world who you are and show yourself. You’re an Aeris: you’re strong and you’re damn fun to have around. Don’t let your light fade because of some teenage boy who never deserved you.”
She smiled the first genuine smile I’d seen in months as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Thank you. I love you both so much.”
“We love you too, sweetheart,” Phillipa said.
“Let’s let someone else have their turn now, okay?” Marco said, wiping his eyes. “We’ll see you again before you know it.”
Sienna nodded then buried her face in her hands. I hated to see her crying like this, but I was fairly sure it was a healing sort of cry, not a devastated one.
Despite the fact that Xavier had said he was giving up on their relationship, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
I turned to Jay, who was staring hopelessly at Charlene. I was convinced in that moment that he truly was in love with her, no matter what Nicholai had originally sent him to Center Allegheny to do.
“Hey, Jay,” she said softly.
“Hey.” His voice was gruff and raw. It was obvious how much he was hurting.
“You’re as handsome as ever, baby boy. Why are you still pining over me? I’m a ghost.”
His brows furrowed. “I will never stop pining over you, Charlene Lowrey. You were the best thing that ever happened to me in this life, the light to my darkness. Now you’re gone, and it’s so dark I can’t even see three feet in front of me…”
She cocked her head and smiled. “No, Jay, listen to me. You are not dark. You might’ve made some bad choices and done some bad things, but you are not a bad person. You are redeemable, baby. You just have to find some inner light and cling to it.”
The Essential Elements: Boxed Set Page 66
