Just Breathe (40 page)

Vexx took Whetu’s hand and held her gaze. “I knew you’d help us find the door. Your Air is strong. I’m so proud of you, Whetu.”

A great breeze of cool, airy relief swept over her. For the first time since she was abducted, Whetu smiled.

And I’m proud of you, too,
aroha, Papa’s voice whispered in her mind.

* * * *

Gavin took a deep breath outside the run-down building on the outskirts of Torquay. His arms spread palpable light through the darkness, the red tattoos blaring louder than the others.

With no warning, biology kicked him in the balls and put his cock in a chokehold. Violent visions of fucking Scarlet darted between scattered swells of reason. Without Zoe there to ground him, his mind spun out of control. Snippets from the past—or maybe the future—plagued his thoughts, spreading like a virus, feasting on his decaying sanity.

Dancing images sharpened with sickening clarity. He yanked Scarlet’s head back by the hair and twisted until she cried out. Her whimpers turned to taunting laughter. As he pounded her from behind, he slid his hands around Scarlet’s throat, nice and slowly, and squeezed.

Yes. Tighter. Kill her. Suffocate her.

The tendrils inside him woke up and stretched, increasing the tension between Scarlet’s Fire and his.

Fuck, he was hungry. For Scarlet.

And she was here.

He licked his lips as more high-def visions of Scarlet contaminated the widescreen of his mind. She smiled over her shoulder at him, tits bouncing with each thrust. She wore Zoe’s face.

Come and get me, lover.
More demonic laughter.

He shook his head and scrubbed his face. Fuck. He had to pull his shit together.

When he emerged from his twisted fantasy, he was surrounded by four questioning stares. The Elementals must’ve thought he’d gone mad.

Yes. Yes, he fucking had.

“I reckon there are several Fyres in there, guarding the door,” Gavin said, his mind swimming. “I’ll take point. Whetu and Vexx, stay directly behind me. I need you close to help me navigate. Byrn and Jet, cover the Aers. They’re most vulnerable.”

“We’ve done this a few times before, Sentinel boy. We know the drill.” Byrn crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s get on with it.”

Gavin swallowed the insult screaming its way up his throat. “Whetu hasn’t done this before. And we don’t have a Wæter, which would come in really handy about now.”

Jet, Byrn, and Vexx exchanged smiles.

“Did I miss something?” The secrets Jack’s merry band of Elementals were so fond of sharing were starting to irritate him.

Byrn grinned wryly and rocked on his heels, the toes of his boots rising off the dirt. “Nope. Nothing at all. After you, Guitar Hero.” He gestured to the warehouse entrance.

Bastard.

When he got to the door, Gavin tried opening it. Not surprisingly, it was locked. Jet stepped forward, gripped the metal handle, and ripped it off as if it were made of paper.

Fuck. Glad she was on his side, he stared at her for a moment. She said nothing.

In they went.

And his leashed Fire stoked again.

His chest burned to the point of agony. He fell against the wall and pressed a hand to his sternum. The Fire tattoos deepened to an unearthly red and throbbed in time to the beat of his heart.

Scarlet wanted her Fire back.

Double fuck.

“Bad shit ahead,” came Jet’s voice from behind and to the left.

Understatement of the decade.

Whetu’s shaking hand grasped the back of Gavin’s shirt. With Scarlet showing her arse through their unholy connection, he was probably not the best person to hold on to.

“Stick with me, girl.” Vexx shot him a pointed look and guided Whetu away. “I gotcha covered.”

Byrn stretched his arms to the sides as if waking from a nap. The movement sent a heat wave through the moldy-smelling darkness.

Embers in Gavin’s chest sputtered.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a Fyre.” Byrn dropped his gaze to Gavin’s chest.

Gavin avoided Byrn’s eyes. “Just enjoy your meal away from the Aers.” He continued onward, Scarlet’s tug guiding him. Shit, was he putting everyone in danger by being here?

“If Half-Pint stays outta my way, she’ll be fine. The rest of us can take care of ourselves.”

That collective smile bounced around again. What the hell were they up to?

Enough of this shit. He turned to Whetu. “Where to?”

The wide-eyed girl pointed left—same direction as Scarlet was pulling him. Navy blue worry and red-brown fear invaded the yellow at the core of Whetu’s aura. He didn’t have time to feel sorry for her now. He’d apologize for his coldness later. Assuming there
was
a later.

He headed down the hall, combat boots echoing off the tile floor, conjuring flurries of dust motes in the dim glow of his tattoos. With each step, the Fire grew, livened.

He needed Zoe.

Shit, he hadn’t spoken to her since this morning. It had been a mad house at home. They’d barely had a chance to say goodbye. What if…

Don’t go there.

Jack told him that Xanthos bloke would tail her. She should be okay. He lifted his chin and continued onward through the increasingly hot building.

Each step brought him closer to Scarlet. He tried to tune into her thoughts, but he got only static.

I can feel you, Gavin. So nosy. Did you like the burnt little pressies I left you this morning? Hospital security never saw me coming. I laid waste to an entire maternity ward, just for you, my love. Those wee babies were adorable, swaddled in blankets of ash.

No! A wave of fury rolled up his back, and Byrn appeared at his side. He pointedly looked Gavin in the eyes and brushed his hand. “Mind on business.” His voice was firm. Committed.

Some of the heat diffused out of Gavin through the brief skin-to-skin connection. He was happy for Byrn to siphon as much as he wanted.

Scarlet loosened her grip without further comment.

Gavin heaved a sigh of relief as the smoke cleared from his brain. Maybe Byrn wasn’t so bad after all.

She’s trying to distract you. Wear you down,
he told himself.
Whatever Scarlet did is done. You can’t change it. Keep focused on your mission to find the door. Move forward.

Another deep breath. Yeah. Forward.

Byrn quirked a brow as if to say, “Okay?”

Gavin nodded.

A few more turns, a trek down some stairs, and a trip through a long hallway brought them to a pair of double doors.

“The portal’s in there.” Whetu’s soft voice shook.

Gavin laid his palm on the metal. Dreamsense provided a snapshot of what awaited on the other side. “There are at least three Fyres.”

Another solar flare of nuclear heat doubled him over.

Oh, fuck. He rubbed his sternum. Panic resurfaced. “Make that four.”

He’d be worthless to his mates with Scarlet pinging around inside him. He couldn’t think straight. Reality jumbled and flipped and shattered. His vision reddened.

Could he be any more pathetic? The oath he swore wouldn’t allow him to fight Scarlet. He might even be compelled to join her. Cursed to stand by and watch as the one person he hated enough to kill either got away from him again or died by someone else’s hand.

Who would take her? Jet? Would Byrn consume her?

Sweat sizzled a path down the side of his face. He couldn’t let them have his prize. God damn it, he wanted her blood on
his
hands, her entrails on—

That’s the Fire talking. Think of Zoe,
a female voice said in his mind.

He turned around. Whetu stared up at him with yellow doe eyes. The pink burns lining her throat stood in relief against the surrounding light brown skin. She’d been through as much as him. Probably more. If he lost his shit, he’d put this innocent kid—and everyone else—at risk again.

He’d become a Sentinel for people like Whetu. Despite the immediate challenges facing him, he had to step up—rise above Scarlet and his Fire-driven urges.

Injustice and hunger for power would always exist, but so would the resiliency of the human spirit. He had plenty of that, and it was a stronger weapon than fiery hatred.

With a deep breath, he concentrated on the Water—on his love for Zoe and many others like Jack and Yileen who’d touched his life and made him a better person. He funneled the Element through his chest to fall in a steady rain over the Fire in his gut.

Scarlet hissed and scurried for cover.

Yes. Water would save them all.

Gavin smiled at Whetu and patted her arm. She smiled back.

A breeze from Vexx passed over his skin, sharpening his wit. Earthy strength from Jet surged through muscle and bone. Fiery determination from Byrn kicked his hesitancy in the arse.

And Zoe provided the Water he’d need to take down the fuckers on the other side.

Surrounded by the power of the Elements, he was re-energized—the Sentinel he used to be—once again.

He could do this.

“I’m ready. Open the door, Jet.”

Chapter Forty-one

The room was pitch black and sweltering. A low buzz hummed through the air along with pulsing energy that stiffened the hairs on Gavin’s arms into hypersensitive monofilament wires.

Four intensely red auras stood in the center of the space. He couldn’t tell how big the room was, but judging by the echo from the mechanical hum, it was vast and mostly empty.

“If you’ve come for a root, it’s a little late.” Scarlet pulled gently on the Fire tethering them together. Teasing. Testing.

He ignored it. “Nope. I’m here to reclaim the door to the Dreaming. And the necklace you stole.” He touched the bare space at his neck. Yileen’s gift might have come in handy right now. He had a feeling the last remaining gem on it held more power than the others combined.

Her raspy, evil laugh must have scared Whetu, who fisted the back of his shirt again. Quick breaths pumped from her lungs behind him. The three other Fyres snickered in reply. Gavin felt around and grasped her arm gently.
It’s okay. Stay close.

“Come and get it,” Scarlet said.

The Fyres fanned out around her like a pack of wolves backing up their alpha. Gleaming red eyes shone through the darkness. They moved forward as one.

The first blast of yellow-orange flame shot straight at Gavin. His friends tightened around him, Jet and Byrn on either side, blocking Vexx and Whetu from the fireball. Gavin threw out both hands, palms vertical. A direct hit doused the first Fyre with Water. Whetu squealed as a combination shriek/explosion lit up the place. The wet
slop
of a body hit the floor and splattered into a puddle of foul-smelling organic goo.

One down.

Thick arms bowed protectively, Byrn jumped in front of Vexx, into the next round of fire. He buffered the blow with his body as Vexx tackled Whetu to the floor. Byrn and his enemy ignited into dueling flames. No longer corporeal, their pure Elemental energy clashed with ear-splitting crackles. While each of them volleyed for control of the other, Jet made a beeline for Scarlet. Good. Since Gavin couldn’t hurt her, he would take the third Fyre.

“Keep right behind me.” Gavin tossed the words over his shoulder to the Aers as he snapped his arms out and shook more Water to the surface. His ‘guns’ ready, he leveled them on his target.

This Fyre was faster than the first, and smarter. He dodged Gavin’s blast by Firewalking through Byrn and the other Elemental’s flames at the last second. When he rematerialized, he bolted like a rocket on a collision course with Vexx. Byrn shouted her name. In the darkness, it took Gavin a moment to register what happened and to get his bearings. He tracked the Fyre a moment too late.

Protected by Gavin’s blind spot, the fucker shot his Fire cannons to Gavin’s left, where Whetu stood vulnerable. Gavin didn’t even have time to think the word ‘shit’ before he spun to face him. On the slow-motion turn, his Water tattoos roared to life, and a blue stream surged over his shoulder, into the Fyre’s chest.

“No!” The bloke’s dying scream lasted longer than he did, bouncing off the walls as his human form disintegrated into sulfurous muck.

Gavin whirled around, tattoos casting bright aqua light over the scene. At least he could see the goddamn place now.

“Vexx, you okay, baby?” Byrn’s voice strained from the writhing ball of orange and red.

“Yeah,” came Vexx’s clipped reply.

Whetu cowered in Vexx’s arms, not hurt as far as Gavin could tell. Her legs shook so hard, she dropped to the floor.

Vexx sat beside the girl, patting her down, checking for damage. She didn’t look up as she said, “Gavin, meet Xanthos. Xanthos, Gavin.”

No one was there. Gavin wiped his sweaty brow. “How’re you going?” he said to the wall. “Glad you could join us. Your timing couldn’t be better, though I thought you’d be with Zoe.”

A silvery blue outline shimmered across the concrete and headed to Jet and Scarlet. Unable to help there and worried that if he intervened in Byrn and the second Fyre’s bonfire, he might accidentally hurt his ally, Gavin lowered his gaze to the Aers.

“The b-b-box.” Whetu pointed to the center of the room.

An imposing three- by three-meter metal cube. Jet and Scarlet squared off several meters away. Xanthos’s human form flickered to life for a split second and released a deluge of Water in their direction.

Please, gods, let Xanthos kill her…

Scarlet screamed a curse, and Gavin barreled over in anguish.

The pain ended abruptly.

He straightened, afraid to look, yet not able to turn away.

Scarlet was gone. Hands out, Jet stood with a puzzled expression near the cube.

Gavin laid a hand on his chest. Was Scarlet’s Fire still inside him? He didn’t feel anything…

“The box!” Vexx shouted.

He aimed his gaze at the cube and jogged past the searing ball of Byrn and the remaining Fyre. Byrn’s face shook from the flames, pointing in Vexx’s direction, his expression tight.

Vexx shielded her eyes from the brightness of the inferno and bit her lip. She seemed to be concentrating hard. Byrn winked at her, then melted back into red and orange. The heat intensified.