When I thought about it again, it made sense. Ikelia had been helping Jacques. She knew about Cyrus. She would have wanted to know everything Jacques was doing, especially when it came to hiding the treasures. Ikelia would have told at least my mom, but I wasn’t sure if she had told Sabina and Halina. Since Mom didn’t tell me to find Sabina and Halina before Cyrus took her life, but only to save their children, did it mean the two Elementum were dead? Eli and I tried to track them down, but we were unsuccessful.
Life carried on, and we decided not to bother to find Sabina’s and Halina’s children. Perhaps they didn’t want to be found, like Eli and me. Perhaps it was better that way. It worked out in their favor. They didn’t have to worry about Cyrus. They were living normal lives. How do you know, I asked myself. I didn’t. Perhaps Cyrus got to them before we could. I stopped thinking.
Mother’s journal proved to be useful. The notes had flown out of the pages when I told it to sing at Rosslyn Chapel to release the last clue. She’d written clues to find one last piece of the grand puzzle, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. I would figure it out, but I hoped I could do it in time. Eli needed to break the bond with Cyrus.
The Snow Queen had chosen four Elementum and gave them each powers and a protective necklace—clear as crystal and the shape of either an edelweiss flower, her symbol, or a sunburst like Eli’s. Rumor said the Snow Queen lived. Where the hell was she? Why didn’t she save them from Cyrus? Why did she bother to bring four together, only to let them die at the hands of their enemy?
Was there a purpose to their deaths? Perhaps she wasn’t as powerful as everyone said she was. Or maybe the Snow Queen was a myth to give hope to our people that one day Cyrus might be defeated. I wasn’t sure if I believed in the Snow Queen anymore.
I rubbed the necklace that had belonged to my mother, tucked away in my pants pocket, and the ache in my chest began to grow. Ever since Lucia’s pendant had been taken from Clarissa and then found again, I decided it was best to keep mine out of reach.
No more crying, I had sworn to myself. Be strong. Be brave. I needed to be the Elementa I was born to be. I had to save Eli. I would not let my mother’s death be in vain. Closing my mother’s journal, I took it with me out of the cabin. After reading a spell I wanted to master, I practiced on the tree. Thunder roared and a sizzling, blinding light flashed before my eyes. The lightning I had conjured split the tree in half.
I mentally patted myself on the back. Not bad. Not bad at all. My mother would be proud.
Abel
The sweet fragrance of edelweiss flowers filled my room. Though I knew I was safe from the flowers, I didn’t dare touch them. After all, I was a Lamia, a form of a demon. Could it suck me up if it sensed any hint of evil inside me? I didn’t want to know what it did after it vacuumed up a demon.
The flower looked angelic, with fuzzy white petals that reminded me of cotton balls. In the center, white and yellow-greenish balls clustered. The sweet scent drew me closer, and I wanted to inhale greedily, but I stayed the hell away from it. After checking the time on my cell phone, I bolted out of my bedroom.
Cayden, Kohl, and Vanessa were sprawled out on the sofas asleep. Empty beer bottles lined the table, and several crumpled chip bags lay on the floor. My friends looked young and innocent with their eyes closed. My heart ached for them, for their loss, and for what we could never get back: our lives before the war.
My family. These kids were everything to me. After our parents died in the last war, we only had each other. Vanessa got on my nerves, but when shit hit the fan, I would be there for her.
At the beginning, I felt horrible for leaving them to attend the group meetings we had at Lucia’s house. I’d never kept secrets from them. But in the end, I was glad they weren’t included in our dangerous quests. If something were to happen to them, I would feel responsible. Though we were in the same grade, I was the oldest by a couple of months. For that reason, plus the fact that I acted a bit more mature, I had been appointed as the adult.
I left a note on the fridge saying I would be back soon and took off to Lucia’s.
Chapter 4
Eli
The faint sound of mutated-human monsters raging, wanting to be free, reverberated around their prison walls. I hated that sound. I felt helpless to help them. If I let them escape, they would be free to attack anyone and everyone. They didn’t know any better. They had no conscience or morals, and they certainly had no sense of remorse. They only hungered for blood to satisfy their instincts. So they were safer locked up until we could break their spell. Perhaps sooner than I’d thought.
I found hope.
The Snow Queen lived.
Cyrus’s shocked expression when I said “I know she’s alive” confirmed the whispered rumors I’d been hearing among his dutiful followers. They’d never directly said the words, but the caregivers for the special prisoners he had hidden away somewhere had spoken about the Snow Queen in a roundabout way. They didn’t know I listened from the shadows.
I had to find her. She could be our only salvation to stop Cyrus’s madness and then to break my bond to Cyrus.
“Going somewhere?”
I was tired of hearing Mortem’s voice. He trailed behind me constantly. I should have killed him when I had the chance. That might be one mistake I would regret for the rest of my life.
I peered up. Mortem sat on the protruding rocky wall, glaring down at me. Dark smoke lingered around him, indicating he had just traveled in demon mist form. Where had he gone?
“Going somewhere, you asked? Can’t get enough of me, Mortem? Can’t stop ogling my handsome face? That’s so sweet of you. But you should know by now, I only go for girls with white wings.”
His nostrils flared, but he remained surprisingly calm. Then as white wings spread from his back, his hair grew past his shoulders and his muscles shrank to form a curvier body. Lucia.
I gasped inwardly to see a perfect image of her. So real. She looked so real. I wanted to touch her, to hold her in my arms. I’d shut my emotions down to be strong, to carry out my plan so I could get back to her. But…damn him to hell. My heart exploded with suppressed emotions. I almost lost myself to violence. Steady the heart. He’s trying to unravel me. As always, I let my humor calm me down.
“Now at least you’re pretty to look at, but I have to say this version of Lucia is not my type. I bet you have hairy legs and armpits.”
Mortem transformed into me.
“That’s more like it. I think I can stare at myself all day. I’m so handsome. It’s no wonder girls fawn all over me. Even I dream about myself.” I snickered. “You should stay like me. Maybe, just maybe you’ll get lucky and someone will fall in love with you, but then she wouldn’t really be falling in love with you…but still me.” I shrugged.
“Enough,” he hissed.
“You started it.” I loved playing with Mortem. He took the bait so easily. “And you know I’m right.”
“Go. Leave me be. Get the hell out of here and find Cyrus’s pet. If you can’t handle following my orders, then I’ll ask someone else. Don’t waste my time.”
I blinked at him. “Your orders? You mean Cyrus’s orders.” I sat on the hot, rocky surface. Molten lava flowed like a river not too far from me. Examining my nails in fake boredom, I said, “I think I’ll go when I feel like it. Even Cyrus doesn’t demand like you. I was about to take a hot bath before I go.” I gestured with a tilt of my head to the thick, bubbling liquid. “You care to join me? You can go first.”
His eyes darkened to glittering onyx. “Don’t be a fool. Get the hell out of here.”
“You’re nothing to me. You don’t get to order me around.”
I’d have thought he would’ve attacked me already, but he simply twitched his lips. The sly expression on his face told me he knew something I didn’t know. What is he up to?
“Soon,” he said, like a declaration. “I’ll have you under my control, and Cyrus will either be dead or he?
??ll be my dog.” Then he morphed into another body.
I’d seen Mortem change his physical form many times, but never to the one he showed me then. No jokes would tame the violent storm brewing inside me.
“Change yourself.” My tone was a warning. “I don’t care if you’re an insect, but you don’t get to be my mother. You don’t deserve to even pretend to be her.”
Mortem said nothing, but his smirk undid me. I began to stomp my way to him.
“You change right now, or so help me God, I’ll kill you.”
“Try it,” he said.
I morphed into my demon mist. As I swirled around him, I took my angel form and swatted at him with one of my black wings. He had changed into dark mist in the nick of time. I hit nothing but air. He whirled and landed a jab on my cheek. I flew across the lava river and smacked against the scalding mountain wall. My skin hissed. I charged at Mortem like a bullet train, colliding with him just as he released his demon form and materialized back to himself.
His spine cracked on the protruding rocks embedded in the face of the mountain, and he fell like a bird with a broken wing. Seconds before he slammed against the ground, he managed to transform into a mist and then back to himself.
Wheezing, he held out his hand, dragging his body away from me. With his spine broken, he had no chance of survival unless he transformed to a mist before I could get to him, but with such severe injuries, he wouldn’t be able to turn. I had the upper hand. It was time to do what I should have done earlier.
“Wait! I have valuable information to share with you,” he said.
I didn’t respond, taking my time to draw out every inch of fear in him. He deserved to be hunted like prey, to know what it felt like. How many innocent beings had he tortured? How many had he killed? He was stalling for time to heal. A bone snapped into place with a sharp crack.
“You’re pathetic. Get up and fight like the monster you are,” I challenged, my canines jutting out. My blood pumped with revenge and hatred. The Lamia part of me hungered for his blood. I wasn’t going to let him die a painless death. I wanted him to suffer as much as I had, as much as his victims had. I wanted him to beg, and I wanted to kick his ass for touching my Lucia.
“Wait,” he said again, sounding desperate.
I willed my sword, ready to plunge it through his body, not to kill, but to give him pain beyond imaging.
“Your mother is alive,” he said quickly.
I froze. His eyes, his expression, and the sound of his heart thumping…he told the truth.
“Do something for me, and I’ll give you information about your mother,” Mortem said.
I gripped crisscrossed straps on the front of his leather suit and pulled him up. He yelped and winced in pain. He hadn’t fully healed yet. “Tell me right now, or I’ll snap each vertebra in your spine. I’m not the little boy who came in, and I’m not the same boy who saved your sorry ass from Michael. Tell me right now.” I shook him.
Mortem cried out. “If you kill me, you’ll never know. It will haunt you for what little time you have left. Cyrus will own your soul; he will own you for eternity. He’ll make you do things, worse things than I’ve done. I can help you, but you must do something for me.”
I snorted at his ridiculous demand. “Tell me about my mother first. You said you have information about her.” I yanked him closer to my face. He moaned from the sudden jerk. “My mother is dead. Unless you’re going to tell me you know where she is and that you plan to take me there, I don’t care what you have to say.” God. My heart pounded out of my chest. Could it be so? Had Cyrus not killed my mother but kept her prisoner instead because he loved her? Only a psychopath would do such thing.
“I’m not going to tell you anything. Do we have a deal or not?” He struggled to speak. His effort told me he knew something for sure.
I trembled from anger and frustration, but if I killed Mortem, I wouldn’t be playing with the right cards. Acting stupidly from pure rage would do no good. I said through my gritted teeth, “I have no choice but to say yes. Do keep in mind that I have both demon and angel blood pumping through me. I’m a lot stronger and faster than you. What do you want?”
“Smart boy.” He gave me his smartass smirk, and I lost it.
“You know what? I changed my mind. I don’t feel like talking to you right now. You can tell me when I get back.”
“No, Eli. W—” was all he could say before I knocked him out cold with one punch.
That felt freakin’ awesome. Now, time to find Clarissa.
Chapter 5
Ikelia
Time was irrelevant for immortals, but for me, imprisonment felt like eternity. Time was the last thing I should worry about. I was safe. My general necessities, like bathing and food and water, were taken care of. But I had sat alone, picked at my nails, and drawn in the dirt for far too long.
Cyrus’s visits had waned. In fact, he’d stopped coming… I couldn’t remember when he last visited. He sent a girl to take his place. Wait. Eli was alive. He had been alive. How long ago had Cyrus taken my son?
Footsteps. Mortem? No. Softer. Lighter. I wished Mortem had returned, to tell me he found a way to free me, but I let go of wishful thoughts. He would come around, hopefully. Cyrus would disappoint him somehow, and Mortem would act in anger. He always had. I stood up. Hope. I would hold onto hope.
“You’re not the same girl.” I surveyed the stranger approaching me.
Cute girl. About Eli’s age, perhaps. She had long brown hair, and like the other girl who had been there, this one had demon eyes that glowed molten-crimson just beyond the portal wall. Déjà vu settled in me. Where had I seen the girl before?
She seemed so familiar.
She must be one of Cyrus’s soldiers, if only because she knew I would be there. And this girl wore an outfit like the other one—black leather pants and top, and a sword sheathed behind her.
“No, I’m not the same girl.” She backed against the wall and glanced about, taking in her new environment. “Has the girl that attends to your needs been here?”
“No. Not yet. Who are you?” I asked softly. I didn’t want to upset the girl or scare her off.
The girl ignored me, staring at something out of sight. Then she meandered toward it, extending her hand like she wanted to touch it but didn’t.
“They seem to tell a story, but I don’t understand. Knights it seems. Knights Templar?” She spoke to herself and then slowly turned, as if she remembered who watched her. “I can’t believe I found you.” She met my eyes at last, her red eyes calming to rich, dark brown.
“You were looking for me?” I almost broke out in sobs. “Did my son send you? Does he know I’m alive?” I almost asked if Mortem had told Eli that his mother was alive, but I stopped myself. So many questions. But so many things could go wrong if I asked the wrong ones.
“Cyrus moves you around, the girl told me.” Not an answer, but the girl was talking at least. “That’s how he keeps anyone from finding out about you in case your caretaker is forced to talk. I wonder how long he will keep you here?”
“He recently brought me here,” I said, playing along. “What can I do for you? Why are you here if not to rescue me?”
The girl dipped her head, shuffled her feet, and then lifted her head again with demon eyes beaming. “I’m not here to rescue you. I don’t know how. I just wanted to see for myself if the girl I threatened to kill told me the truth. Coward. She’s not to be trusted, but I won’t tell Cyrus. And now I don’t have to kill her because she told me the truth. I can use her to get information.”
“Please. Help me. I will owe you anything. I’m an Elementa. I have great powers.” I couldn’t believe my rotten luck. Someone who could help me had to come along, not these idiots who came to gawk but couldn’t save me.
The girl craned her neck, eyes set on something on the wall again. “I don’t know. Cyrus will hurt my family. He’ll do things. I want to—stop it!” She put her hands to her ears, and l
et go. “Stop putting thoughts in my mind.” The girl stomped closer, fangs ready in warning. “I used to know an Elementa, but she died. Cyrus will do the same to you.”
“Please. Find my son. He’ll help me. And I promise, I’ll owe you a favor. Anything.”
“You can’t give me any favors if you’re dead,” she seethed. Her fangs extended, and her nails sharpened into points. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
The girl started walking away, her fingernails scraping across the rocky wall, leaving dust particles falling like snow.
“Wait.” I had to think of something. I couldn’t let my chance slip away. But what could I say? The girl had already dismissed the offer of a favor. A name. I just needed to say a name. One word that would stick with the girl as she left. “You don’t know my son. He’s very powerful. His name is Eli.”
The girl froze. Even the cool air seemed to still. In the blink of an eye, she stood before my prison, eyes wide and alert. “Eli?” Her eyes turned back to human eyes, her fangs and sharp nails gone. Her expression softened to worry and surprise.
“Yes. Eli. Do you know him? Cyrus has him. Eli thinks I’m dead. He needs to know I’m alive. We can both defeat Cyrus, and you can be free.”
The girl seemed to consider those words as she stared at nothing in particular. “I have to go,” she said somberly. “I don’t know.”
“What do you know?” I spat, running out of patience. Before the girl vanished, I had to ask as many questions as possible. “Do you know Eli, or have you heard of that name? You said you knew other Elementum—who? Their names would be Kalani, Sabina, and Halina. Please. Tell me.” I was tired of begging, but any information was helpful, even if to confirm whether my friends were alive or dead.