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Authors: Elizabeth Hunter

Waterlocked: An Elemental World Novella (14 page)

BOOK: Waterlocked: An Elemental World Novella

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Punches turned into kicks. The four humans who had thrown the man out were not without their strengths, and blood was flowing. He heard Paula whine at his side, eager to taste it, but Ernesto put a hand on her arm, stilling her. He wanted to watch a bit longer.

The human was abnormally fast. He did not try to hold off his attackers, but let them draw close, then used swift punches to knock them back. And throughout it all, his face was mask of impassive focus. He seemed almost bored, despite the bruise that was forming on one cheek, another on his eye, and the blood that dripped from his mouth to his chin. His face said one thing, but the coiled tension in his body said something entirely different.

What exquisite anger.

Ernesto felt his fangs drop, and he took Paula’s hand, slowly walking closer to the fight.

The humans didn’t notice, so focused on their own bloody feud. Despite his skill, the lone human was starting to falter; four opponents were simply too much for him. Still, he fought on, showing no signs of capitulation. Ernesto wondered whether the other humans would kill the man. That would be a shame. He was a fine specimen, and his blood was rich with the smell of the ocean.

“Paula,” he said quietly, reluctant to interrupt the fight.

She hissed, “Yes?”

“Stop them.”

He could feel her trembling in anticipation. “May I drink, Father?”

“Drink your fill from the four, but leave the fighting one for me.”

In the space of a blink, Paula was on them, dragging one human back to a dark corner and piercing his neck with her fangs. The copper smell of blood filled the alley, drowning out the smell of garbage and fish. The three remaining did not notice the loss of their friend; they were more focused on the slowly weakening Chinese man. The lone human did notice the loss of one of his attackers, and his eyes scanned the alley, all the while holding off the three other men as best he could. Finally, his eyes paused on the mist-clad form of Ernesto and he blinked.

One of the attackers knocked him to the ground at that point, but within seconds, that man was gone as well. Paula grabbed him and latched onto his neck, letting his sounds of struggle fill the air.

“Paula,” Ernesto chided. “We do not wish for attention.”

Immediately, the man grew limp in her arms and fell silent. By this point, the two remaining humans who had been beating the Chinese man had turned to see what the commotion was. Their eyes grew wide and their mouths dropped open in horror as they watched their fellow human crumble to the ground. One darted for the door of the gambling hall, but Paula was already there. He didn’t even have time to scream. The other made for the mouth of the alley, his voice pitched high as he yelled for help, but Ernesto caught him by the hand and squeezed. The man fell silent, his mind flooded by Ernesto’s powerful amnis.

He stepped closer to the Chinese man, handing Paula the human’s hand as she finished drinking his comrade.

“What are you?” the human asked in perfect English.

“You speak very well.” It was true. He had a distinct accent, but his words were clear. “What is your name?”

“What are you?” the human asked again, wiping the blood from his eyes and inching toward the dark street.

“How did you learn to fight like that? It was fascinating and very effective.”

The man never took his eyes off Ernesto, but he straightened a little. “My father taught me to fight.”

“He would be proud.”

“No.” The man was inching along the grimy brick wall. “He wouldn’t.”

There it was again, just a flicker in the human’s eyes. Such
exquisite
anger. What would it be like with immortal power behind it? What would it take to leash the power of such a creature? Ernesto’s blood pumped in his veins and he bared his fangs at the thought. The human saw his opportunity and ran out of the alley, silently fleeing the vampires and disappearing into the night. Paula appeared at his side half a second later.

“You didn’t drink, Father.”

He turned and smiled, patting her cheek and taking his handkerchief from his pocket to dab at a spot of blood on her chin. “I’m not hungry for blood tonight,
mi querida
. Did you enjoy yourself?”

“
Si, Papa. Gracias.
”

“Good. Now that you’ve had your fill…” Ernesto finished tending to his child, then his eyes grew cold as he turned to the foggy night. “Find the human, Paula. And bring him to me.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dear readers,

This little story had an unusual start. I love Terry and Gemma. I’ve loved them since they first appeared in
This Same Earth
, but I didn’t really know whether they had enough of a story to warrant a whole novel. I knew they had a different kind of relationship, and didn’t really know how Elemental Mystery and Elemental World readers would like it, to be honest.

Toward the end of 2012, I was coming to the end of

a very hard year. I decided I wanted to finally write Terry and Gemma’s love story, even though it wasn’t a full book. Even though it was just for fun.

Because really, it was just for me. I needed to take a deep breath and connect with readers more directly. I needed the pure fun of writing again. I decided to post
Waterlocked
on my website as free fiction for my dedicated readers, and see if they might enjoy it, too.

I wrote. I sent it to my most excellent first reader, Kristine M. Todd. Then I posted. I posted one chapter a week, and I was
overwhelmed
by the reaction. I had the highest site traffic in my blog’s history on posting days! Needless to say, it was incredibly gratifying to read the comments from my wonderful fans who enjoyed a lighter love story like
Waterlocked
.

It was just what I needed.

I finished up the editing on the first Cambio Springs book,
Shifting Dreams,
and started on the next full novel in the Elemental World series,
Blood and Sand
. I finished the first draft in record time, just over two months, and the story will be published this summer.

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed Gemma and Terry along with me. And thank you to readers who are reading it in its final form, too. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Hunter is a contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance author. She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College in the Department of English (Linguistics) and a former English teacher. She once substitute taught a kindergarten class, but decided that middle school was far less frightening.

She currently lives in Central California with a seven-year-old ninja who claims to be her child. She enjoys music, writing, travel, and bowling (despite the fact that she’s not very good at it.) Someday, she plans to learn how to scuba dive. And maybe hang glide... but that looks like a lot of running.

She is the author of the Elemental Mysteries and Elemental World series, the Cambio Springs series, and other works of fiction.

Website:
ElizabethHunterWrites.com

Elemental Mysteries fan site:
ElementalMysteries.com
.

E-mail:
[email protected]
.

Twitter:
@E__Hunter

Find me on Facebook!

Waterlocked

by Elizabeth Hunter

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