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Authors: Larissa Ladd
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lost among the trees, Aira thought. She knew several earth elementals became park rangers, nature preserve managers, tied to the lands they walked. Just like air elementals had a propensity for avionics, and water elementals for fisheries and marine biology.
“Not many. They’ll be in closer to the safe house; they didn’t feel too worried about being discovered.” Dylan glanced from Leigh to Aira, and Aira could see that she wasn’t the only one in their party who was concerned about the possibility of being caught unawares. “Going to give us a head start going up, come in behind?” Aiden nodded.
“Aira can fly us up close to where they’ll be, we’ll get some cover from the local bird population.” Aira had discussed this part of their plan at length with Aiden the night before. Flying in the short distance would make the most sense; if they had to pair off instead of going in as a group, then Leigh was the natural one to make the hike, with Dylan with her. Once the two of them began tearing everything down, Aiden and Aira could come in and begin the actual attack.
“I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more going on,” Aira said, scrubbing at her face.
“Me either,” Dylan agreed. “Not to doubt your abilities, Leigh—but it seems like we found them too easily.”
“We’ll have to be on guard,” Aiden said, turning onto the tiny, two-lane road that led up the mountain. “I don’t like this either, but we’re going to have to go for it while they’re still organizing. I don’t want to have to deal with more attacks while we try to catch them all in one place.”
Aira nodded reluctantly. She knew very well that if the investigation dragged on, it would lose momentum. The elders would lose their sense of urgency—and every new elemental who was killed would make it seem easier to just dethrone Aira and put a stop to it.
Aiden pulled the car off of the road and into the trees. Aira climbed out of the passenger seat and watched with faint amusement as Leigh murmured a quick spell, convincing the trees, the underbrush, even a few rocks to move into place, concealing it from anyone who had ill designs.
“We’ll give you an hour,” Aiden told Dylan. “Get up there as quickly as you can manage, and we’ll meet you there.”
As they watched Dylan and Leigh head up along a winding, impossible-to-read trail, Aira looked at Aiden. “I don’t like waiting,” she said, sitting down on a fallen tree with a sigh.
“Normally I’d point out that there are some very good ways to pass the time,” Aiden said with a wry smile. “But somehow I don’t feel like getting devoured by mosquitoes and rolling into poison ivy right before a fight.”
“Not to mention that we’d start a lightning storm and there would go our element of surprise,” Aira added, echoing his wry grin.
“As soon as this is all over,” Aiden told her, reaching out and taking her hand firmly in his, “We are going away for a long time, and if there’s a major crisis among the elemental community they can deal with it their own damn selves.”
“I asked the elders whether they’d prefer me to micromanage the rulers’ council or if they’d rather I continue the next generation of our kind,” Aira told Aiden. “Never did get an answer on that one.”
“They’re just afraid of what our kids would be like.”
“No offense, Drew, but I’m a little afraid of what our kids would be like.”
“That’s not going to stop you though, is it?”
Aira smiled at the hopeful, concerned tone of Aiden’s voice.
“No, it won’t stop me for even a moment.”
The timer on Aira’s phone went off, and she turned to Aiden, taking a deep breath and standing quickly. They had managed a little light making out—almost out of boredom—but they’d stopped when it became clear they were both getting warmed up, full of lust and desire for each other; just before the lightning would have
“Not many. They’ll be in closer to the safe house; they didn’t feel too worried about being discovered.” Dylan glanced from Leigh to Aira, and Aira could see that she wasn’t the only one in their party who was concerned about the possibility of being caught unawares. “Going to give us a head start going up, come in behind?” Aiden nodded.
“Aira can fly us up close to where they’ll be, we’ll get some cover from the local bird population.” Aira had discussed this part of their plan at length with Aiden the night before. Flying in the short distance would make the most sense; if they had to pair off instead of going in as a group, then Leigh was the natural one to make the hike, with Dylan with her. Once the two of them began tearing everything down, Aiden and Aira could come in and begin the actual attack.
“I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more going on,” Aira said, scrubbing at her face.
“Me either,” Dylan agreed. “Not to doubt your abilities, Leigh—but it seems like we found them too easily.”
“We’ll have to be on guard,” Aiden said, turning onto the tiny, two-lane road that led up the mountain. “I don’t like this either, but we’re going to have to go for it while they’re still organizing. I don’t want to have to deal with more attacks while we try to catch them all in one place.”
Aira nodded reluctantly. She knew very well that if the investigation dragged on, it would lose momentum. The elders would lose their sense of urgency—and every new elemental who was killed would make it seem easier to just dethrone Aira and put a stop to it.
Aiden pulled the car off of the road and into the trees. Aira climbed out of the passenger seat and watched with faint amusement as Leigh murmured a quick spell, convincing the trees, the underbrush, even a few rocks to move into place, concealing it from anyone who had ill designs.
“We’ll give you an hour,” Aiden told Dylan. “Get up there as quickly as you can manage, and we’ll meet you there.”
As they watched Dylan and Leigh head up along a winding, impossible-to-read trail, Aira looked at Aiden. “I don’t like waiting,” she said, sitting down on a fallen tree with a sigh.
“Normally I’d point out that there are some very good ways to pass the time,” Aiden said with a wry smile. “But somehow I don’t feel like getting devoured by mosquitoes and rolling into poison ivy right before a fight.”
“Not to mention that we’d start a lightning storm and there would go our element of surprise,” Aira added, echoing his wry grin.
“As soon as this is all over,” Aiden told her, reaching out and taking her hand firmly in his, “We are going away for a long time, and if there’s a major crisis among the elemental community they can deal with it their own damn selves.”
“I asked the elders whether they’d prefer me to micromanage the rulers’ council or if they’d rather I continue the next generation of our kind,” Aira told Aiden. “Never did get an answer on that one.”
“They’re just afraid of what our kids would be like.”
“No offense, Drew, but I’m a little afraid of what our kids would be like.”
“That’s not going to stop you though, is it?”
Aira smiled at the hopeful, concerned tone of Aiden’s voice.
“No, it won’t stop me for even a moment.”
The timer on Aira’s phone went off, and she turned to Aiden, taking a deep breath and standing quickly. They had managed a little light making out—almost out of boredom—but they’d stopped when it became clear they were both getting warmed up, full of lust and desire for each other; just before the lightning would have
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