Elemental Reality (26 page)

Blinking furiously to get rid of the stupid black spots plaguing my vision, I surveyed the ground around me. Parts of it were scorched, watered down, or uprooted and cracked. No one was in sight. I stood up and brushed myself off. I felt sick to my stomach, mostly from the pain in the back of my head, but also because I appeared to be alone. A thick, heavy smoke hung in the air from the firewalls. What happened to everyone? Did I fail? Was everyone dead because of me? It had been all my fault for forcing them to rush heedlessly into battle. My worst nightmares had come true. I vomited as soon as I stood, a mix between my head injury and the reality that had come into sharper focus.

Wiping sweat from my forehead, I desperately searched for any sign of life. Even a bunny would have been a welcome sign. But no. It was too smoky to see in the distance, but that didn’t stop my eyes from trying to go all X-ray vision. To my left the smoke was a little clearer. My eyes fell upon the shape of a body in the distance. My stomach hit the ground as if I had swallowed a sack of rocks. Fear overtook me, and I staggered in its direction. The face came into view, and my heart stopped.

“Oli,” I whimpered. He lay in front of me, motionless. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. I ran the last few steps to him and fell on my knees to the ground as the tears streamed down my cheeks. “Please wake up.”

I wept while I shook his shoulders. My words and pleas and cries were muffled. I laid my head on his chest and cried. I shed twelve years of pent up tears. “Don’t leave me. You can’t,” I cried into his chest. “I-I love you.” I fisted his shirt in my hands. Why hadn’t I spoke those words to him before? A hand gently stroked my hair.

“These aren’t the joyful sobs of victory, are they?” Oli croaked. The tambour of his voice was as rough as his battle-worn skin.

I nearly fainted as I bolted up to see his eyes. His emerald green eyes that stared back at me with all their sparkly glory. And that smile which spread across his bloody lips. My heart melted, and the tears came out like a dam had burst. He was in rough shape. The starts of a black eye darkened his right eye, dried blood was tracked down his chin from a split lip, and parts of his clothes were singed and exposed patches of sooty skin.

“Oli what happened? Where’s our family? Tell me what happened,” I asked feverishly, wanting to shake the answers out of him even though he was obviously hurt.

“Say those words again, Kitten,” Oli said softly. He groaned. Placing his hand on the side of his head made him wince. Opening his eyes again, he gazed lovingly into mine.

“I love you.” The words just tumbled out all willy-nilly. “Where are they?” I was freaking out. Shaking him was starting to look like a good idea.

“Those words sound beautiful coming from your lips.” He winced again.

“How hard did you hit your head?” I gently stroked his forehead. “Our families are missing.”

“I didn’t. I got a fiery blow to my noggin but that’s not what made me say it. Let me finish, please. This blue . . . er, fight made me realize that I could have lost you, and I never got to tell you the most important thing before the blue started.” I quirked my eyebrow. “I love you so much, Kitten.”

He sat up with a struggle, cupped my wet cheeks, and gently placed his lips on mine. I let out a sigh as he calmed my hysterical freak out, and I fisted his shirt in my hands. His tongue licked my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth invitingly. I savored his kiss, a kiss that should have been shared before our battle even commenced. As our kiss wound down he gave me a few more chaste kisses on my lips and cheeks.

“I love you too.” I gave him one last kiss on the lips then looked into his eyes. “What happened here?” I gestured to the grounds around us. “And where is everyone?”

“It’s only us. The firewall singled each of us out, obviously. But I forced my way through it so I had a bigger paddock to blue on. The blue between that Demon bugger and me was going great. I was kicking some major arse. I saw the outer firewalls disperse, and the limp bodies of my oldies, your Dad, and Lola were carried away. The Demon gave me one good blow to the noggin, and I passed out. The next thing I remember is seeing you crying.”

Confusion consumed me like a bad habit. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why leave us behind? I mean, yeah, I’m glad we weren’t taken, but why take our families and not us?” I roared.

Oli stared back at me blankly.

“And why are you still here?” I asked. “Wait. It’s because of our new connection. That’s why.”

He continued to watch the emotions flicker across my face. Then it hit me, all thunderbolt above my head. Cayden had this planned perfectly. He knew I’d never surrender myself, so he did the only thing he knew that could possibly break me. He wasn’t actually trying to take me away without my powers. He was sizing me up, seeing how far he could control me. He was trying to bend me to his will, and I refused to let that happen. He was a cunning Demon, but his plan was about to backfire. My eyes narrowed in anger. In revenge. I had officially gone apocalyptically furious.

Cayden wanted to start a war because he thought he could win. He took my family away in hopes that it would affect my will to fight—to survive. Little did he know that he picked the wrong Faerie to start a war with. What he did had made me ten times stronger and ten times more ready to fight and be victorious.

“Looks like the war between the Demons and our people just escalated to DEFCON One,” I stated.

Lightning crashed down and landed in my palm with a loud boom that made the whole forest tremble at my feet. No more Miss Nice Faerie.

Epilogue

Scarlett sat Indian-style in the corner of her dark, dingy room as she conjured a tiny dust storm on the floor in front of her. She needed to do something to pass the time so she wouldn’t go completely insane. Time. She had no recollection of the time that had passed since she had been isolated from the outside world—no knowledge of where they were. All she knew was her powers had diminished immensely because her connection with Rorey had been severed. He promised to save her, but the longer she sat in the darkness the quicker her strength crumbled away like a hollow heap of sand.

Feet shuffled outside her door. Muffled voices spoke about a battle starting and how “they” were already outside. Scarlett wondered who “they” were. An inkling of hope flooded through her. Scarlett wondered if it was Rorey coming to rescue her after all. Are the girls with him too? Have their powers been released? Are they even old enough to battle? Did they get proper training for this?

A loud rumbling echoed outside. The battle must have started, she thought. The ground in her room trembled. Scarlett jumped onto her makeshift bed and pulled her legs into her chest. Something powerful exploded outside that reminded her of a volcanic eruption. The loud cracking and popping was not a new sound to her; Scarlett knew it was the elements deflecting each other thanks to the fight training her and Rorey did before moving from Tehokas City. Screams bellowed in through the tiny window that lay distant and at the top of her high wall. They reverberated off the ceiling and quieted once they reached the bottom of her cavernous prison. Silence. Was the battle over? The cracking sounded again as if it were answering her question.

If my family is out there, please don’t let them get hurt, she begged silently. Scarlett closed her eyes and covered her ears as she tried to block the noises of chaos and war. She did her best not to let her mind throw images at her of her family during the fight. A high-pitched scream bounced off her walls until it too was silenced when it hit the ground, causing the dust of the earth to dance. She shuddered at the eerie silence that occupied her space as the echo died. Was the battle over? Did someone surrender? Surely it wouldn’t have been the Demons; they were too arrogant to do such a thing and would have continued to fight until death. Perhaps the other side was too weak to continue. Scarlett wished she were able to use her wings so she could fly up to her window to see what was going on.

There was more movement outside her door. Was it actually her family coming to save her? A smile pulled at her lips, but she quickly shook it away. She could not allow herself to be set up for disappointment. She couldn’t do that to herself. She heard mumbling outside her door but couldn’t make out what the words were. Keys jingled as they entered the lock with a
clang, clang, clang
. The door opened and light from the outside flooded in. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the brightness. As soon as she was able to focus three dark figures were shoved into her room. The door slammed with a finality that made her tattered soul freeze. In one quick burst, Scarlett’s energy flared up, and power and energy pooled through her veins like the antidote to a toxin. That could only mean one thing.

“Rorey?” Scarlett breathed. Her voice was rough since she hadn’t used it in so long.

“Love?”

Tears flooded her eyes. She jumped up, almost lost her footing, and ran into Rorey’s outstretched arms. He pulled her in close and held onto her as if the fear of letting go would mean he’d lose her again. Kisses rained down on her face and lips as all of Rorey’s love and pent up emotions poured out of him and into to her.

“Were you out there battling? Are you hurt? Where are the girls?” she asked frantically once her senses came back to her. She peered around him to see who the other two figures were. It was Lucy and Joey looking quite battle-worn. She hugged them both. “I’d like to tell you how happy I am to have you both here with me but considering the situation we’re in . . . Ah, screw it! I’ve missed you both so much. I’m so sorry we left without a goodbye. How’s your son, Oliver? Where is he?”

Scarlett always knew when Lucy was worried; she was never good at hiding it. Lucy averted her gaze for a few seconds then looked back at Scarlett. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. “Oli was fighting with us,” Lucy said through sobs. “He and Callie are soul mates. We’re not sure where they are now.”

“They?” Scarlett put her hand to her throat as if she could stop the idea from freeing itself.

“Yes,” Lucy said, crying even harder.

“How long have I been gone?” Scarlett asked, her mind refusing to believe Lucy’s words.

“It’s been twelve years. The girls grew up beautifully, honey,” Rorey said to her, trying to calm her before panic could hit.

She could read the terror and pain in their eyes. “Rorey, where are the kids? Why aren’t they with us?” she asked, panic seeping out of her voice. Disbelief. That’s the only thing she could feel.

Rorey caressed her cheek. “Oh, Scarlett, I never thought I’d see you again. But I made a promise to find you. We were out there fighting for you. It was terrible. They knew we were coming and divided us.”

“Where are the girls, Rorey?” she sobbed. “Where’s Callista and Lola? Who brought you here?”

The door unlatched and opened once again. All went deadly silent. Scarlett peered around Rorey, hoping to see her babies and not all at the same time. When she saw who stood in the doorway, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

“Hello, Mom,” Lola said in a voice laced with venom. A sneer adorned her mouth. That wasn’t her precious Lola, was it?

“L-Lola?” Scarlett all but choked out.

“Were you expecting someone else?”

“What have you done?” Rorey roared.

“Exactly what I was supposed to do. I brought you and Mom back together,” replied Lola, sarcasm thick in her tone. “You should be happy.”

“Where’s your sister?” Scarlett demanded.

Lola shrugged as if the answer didn’t deserve her attention. “Dead,” she said flatly.

A cry escaped Scarlett’s throat. “No! It can’t be true.”

Lucy let out a shaky gasp. Who was this stranger standing before her? Scarlett wondered what they all knew that she didn’t.

“Afraid it is, Mom. Sorry.” Lola looked at someone to her right then back at Scarlett. “As much as I enjoyed reconnecting with you, Mom, I really have to go. Enjoy what little time you have left with Dad and your friends.” Lola slammed the door and locked it. The sound reverberated off the walls for several seconds.

Scarlett fell to her knees and cried. She had just lost both of her daughters forever. The echoes of her cries of pain resonated all throughout Palon, causing even the Demons to go silent as it bounded through the streets with an almost physical force. It was all for nothing.

Acknowledgments

Where do I even begin? There are so many people out there that I need to thank. I guess I should just dive right into it. First, I’d like to thank my parents for their support and letting me sit around all day, every day just so I could finish writing. Baba, Didi, Aunt Sue, and Aunt Mamie for helping raise me and supporting me in everything I did. To my sister, Abrea, for entertaining me by reading my chapters back to me and finding each characters voice in the process.

Laura: If it wasn’t for your constant pushing and ridiculous deadlines (LOL!) my novel would still be incomplete. Now we’re ready for world domination and sushi!

Lisa: First, I want to thank you for not giving Oli a virtual haircut. Second, you’re one of the best beta’s someone could ask for! You and Traci really helped bring out more of my creative side with all your suggestions.

Speaking of Traci . . . Thank you for being my muse when I needed one. I’m glad I had you on those late nights when my words wouldn’t flow and I needed to talk out a chapter. Also, thank you for being the grammar and comma police when my chapters needed to be set straight.

Holly: Thank you for listening to my constant ramblings on Yahoo! about the world I created and for helping me get the words out when my brain turned to mush.

Stacey and Melinda: Thank you for your Aussie-ness. Because of you lovely sheilas my way with the Aussie language only improved.

Bill: Thank you for constantly yelling at me to finish writing. It was great motivation.

Revolution Publishing, Inc.: Thank you for finding the author buried deep down inside of me and helping her shine bright.

Last, but definitely not least, my fans: Thank you for being there from the beginning. For showing your support. It means the world to me.