Water Shaper (World Aflame) (7 page)

“Xander?” Jessica asked.

“It’s okay, guys. I don’t think she’s going to fight us anymore.”

With a wave of his hand, the shimmering bubble lowered itself back to the damp sand before it dissipated. The remaining water rushed into her, and the Water Elemental grew to her full height. She shook slightly, letting her translucent mane wave in the air as though she were floating underwater.

When her form was once again settled, she stepped calmly toward Xander. She stopped when she was only a few feet away from him and canted her head to the side, as though she were examining a curious insect.

“
I sense the power of the Wind Elemental, but you’re not her.”

“No, I’m not,” Xander said. “The Wind Elemental gave me her power so I could continue the fight against the Fire Caste.”

Her eyes were cold and emotionless, but her face no longer showed the blatant animosity they’d experienced when she was first awakened.

“
You’re… him. You’re the one we designed all those ages ago. You’re the one that will end the elemental cycle, are you not?
”

Xander nodded, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about being “designed” by the Elementals. “Apparently I am.”

“
And you believe you can stop the Fire Elemental from destroying the planet? You think you can save the world?
”

“I don’t really have a choice any longer,” he said. “You all created me to harness the power of all four elements. It’s basically my destiny now.”

He stepped toward her, despite his better judgment. His shoulder still bled from the gash she gave him during their fight.

“The Wind Elemental believed in me enough to give me her power. She sent me to find both you and the Earth Elemental so you could help me as well. I’ve tried fighting the Fire Caste with just the wind, but it’s not enough. I can’t do this without you.”

Xander stared into her glowing, unblinking eyes, trying to find any semblance of humanity within her aquatic form.

“Please,” he begged. “We need your help.”

The Water Elemental turned sharply away from him and began walking back toward her pool. She looked over her shoulder at the dumbfounded Xander, and he saw the frown lines at the corner of her mouth deepen.

“
No
,” she said flatly.

Entering back into the massive cavern that housed the Fire Warrior castle, the Fire Elemental felt a thrill of excitement. Its destiny had always been intertwined with the destruction of the world of man. After waiting impatiently for thousands upon thousands of years, it was finally coming to fruition. Looking upon Los Angeles gave the Elemental a keen sense of disgust toward the humans of the surface world. They had built great towers toward the sky as an edifice to their greed, while never considering the ramifications of their actions. The Fire Elemental was the sword of nature, the weapon that would be used with great precision to remove the head of the beast. The Elemental smirked. That wasn’t the best analogy. It did not intend to remove just the head of humanity. It would be the hammer that would shatter the body until nothing remained.

The Elemental stepped past the gaping hole in the bridge and looked affectionately toward the lava flow far below it. As it reached the far side of the bridge, it paused and looked up toward Lord Balor. The Fire Warrior escorts stopped behind the Elemental but refused to raise their eyes to the traitor.

Before a smug smile could spread across the Elemental’s face, it was struck in the chest by an unseen force. The strength of the hit knocked the wind from its lungs, and it gasped for air as the Elemental dropped to a knee. The Fire Warrior escorts rushed to its side, but it angrily shoved them away.

The pain had been exquisite but only served as a warning. The Water Elemental had been awakened. That cursed fool of a Wind Warrior had already found the next of the Elementals and even now bartered for more power with which to defeat the Fire Elemental.

The Fire Elemental threw back its head and howled in rage. Flames erupted from around its body. They shifted quickly to blindingly bright white and roared with the intensity of the sun. The lava river below bubbled and boiled in response to its anger. Magma sloshed far up the ravine walls as though it were climbing toward its master.

The ground beneath their feet shook violently as though its rage was trying to tear the cave apart. The mortar holding the stones of the bridge together bubbled and melted from the onslaught. Stones gave way against the leftmost edge of the bridge, and one of the two escorts tumbled over the side. His scream of surprise was cut short as lava shot upward to meet him.

The other Fire Warrior hurried across the bridge and collapsed onto the small inlet of land between the bridge and the castle wall.

The Fire Elemental howled again, and a thunderous crack split the air. One of the giant stalactites hanging on the ceiling high above broke from its mooring and plummeted downward. It crashed onto the land, sending shards of Ignatius rock scattering across the ground.

On the face of the castle, the obsidian split violently; a crack formed from the base of its foundation to the parapets above.

General Kobal stormed out of the castle gates and approached as close as he dared to the enraged Elemental. He raised a hand to his eyes, protecting his face from the waves of heat that radiated from the possessed woman.

“Master,” he yelled, though the din of crackling flames stole most of his words.

“Master, please. You must stop or you’ll bring the whole cavern crashing down on our heads.”

The Elemental looked up at the tall, broad-shouldered general and saw fear reflected in the man’s eyes. Slowly the aura of flames around it receded, and the devastating shaking subsided. The room seemed to shake for a moment longer as the cavern settled around its new fissures.

“
That Wind Warrior has become a gnat,
” the Elemental said as it climbed to his feet. “
A parasite that has attached itself to me, feeding off my anger. He must be excised immediately before he has the chance to do more harm.
”

The red eyes closed as the Elemental projected itself across the planet.

The giant orb appeared in the sky once more, this time hovering above a mountaintop. General Abraxas stood on a stony perch, looking down on a city lit by a sea of neon lights. Unlike Los Angeles, this city survived the massive earthquakes relatively unscathed, as though its inhabitants built in anticipation of such an event.

Abraxas raised his head and immediately bowed again to the glowing eye. “Master, you’ve returned so soon.”

“
Our enemy has found and awoken the Water Elemental while I was busy acclimating to my new body.
”

Abraxas looked stunned. “He already has the power of the Water Elemental as well?”

The Fire Elemental canted its head as it probed for the Water Elemental. It could feel her presence, but it seemed remote when compared to the more obvious wind power that Xander controlled.

“
No
,” the Elemental replied coyly. “
He has awoken the Water Elemental, but her power is not yet his. Now is the time to strike. Xander Sirocco is on the move. With the power I’ve given you, you will be able to follow his general movements as I have, even if his power protects him from us discerning his exact location.
”

“What are your orders, Master?”

“
He must not have the chance to absorb the power of the Water Elemental. Find the Wind Warrior and kill him at once.
”

Abraxas smiled wickedly, revealing his rows of sharpened teeth. “As you wish.”

“
General Abraxas,
” the Fire Elemental added. “
I know your personal hatred for the man, as surely as I’ve felt residual hatred from this body toward you. Don’t let your personal ambitions get in the way of the mission I’ve laid before you. I tasked you with this so that you could destroy our enemy, not so you could resolve a personal vendetta. Don’t fail me.
”

As the sight of General Abraxas faded from his view, the Elemental was faced with the same sense of guilt and disappointment it’d felt before. It glanced up at Lord Balor and saw the man’s inquisitive look. Angrily, the Elemental suppressed those unusual feelings and called over General Kobal.

“
Prepare your forces, General. We march on the surface immediately.
”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Xander asked. He was still rooted in place, watching her return to her pool.

The Water Elemental ignored him as she continued her quiet march up the darkened hill.

“I’m talking to you,” Xander said, feeling his ire rise. They had risked everything to come here, including losing loved ones and depowering the entire rest of the Wind Caste. He couldn’t believe her obvious derision.

As before, she ignored him and continued her climb.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” Xander said.

The wind rushed down the whirlpool and slammed into the ground at her feet, forming a near solid wall of air. As the Water Elemental came into contact with the wall, the wind shear splattered parts of her bioluminescent body. She stepped back angrily and spun on Xander.

“
Remove your wall, human
.”

Xander didn’t even bother shaking his head. He stared at her through white, glowing eyes that gave off their own light in the darkness.

Behind her, the roar of the wind grew until it was deafening. He could see the vibrations of its sound shaking her liquid form.

“
I told you to release me
,” she said.

“And I told you that we weren’t done talking,” Xander said.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so angry with someone. Sammy’s life hung in the balance—the whole world did too—and the Elemental was the key to saving everyone he loved. This decision shouldn’t have been as difficult for someone as seemingly omnipotent as the Water Elemental.

“What is your problem? The Fire Caste is preparing to destroy everything you and the other Elementals have worked so hard to create and, instead of helping me, you’re crawling back into your pool of water to hide.”

The Water Elemental stormed down the hill, stopping directly in front of Xander.

“
Don’t you lecture me about the world we created. Your life is a drop in the ocean compared to mine. I’ve seen the best and the worst of humanity. I’m the only one who will decide if I help you and I decided not to.
”

Xander’s eyes drifted to her clenched fists, remembering how quickly they could become blades and how painful their cut could be. He hadn’t intended to be so confrontational, but time was definitely not on his side.

“What happened to you?” Jessica asked, rubbing her arms to ward off the biting cold. Her tone wasn’t accusatory but genuinely filled with concern. “Why do you hate us so much?”

The Water Elemental scowled at the blond woman. Her arm swept out to the side, and Xander tensed for another attack. Instead, the Water Elemental gestured to the ruined city around her.

“
This city was the beacon of all that the Water Caste offered. Science and elemental magic intertwined. Beauty and peace. And it was destroyed by the same humanity you now want me to save. Destroyed for greed, envy, and lust.
”