Elemental Awakened by Helen Scott
7
Tessa
Black lines crawled over his skin, coming out from under his shirt collar, up his neck, until finally, they emerged on his jaw and went up to his right eye, which had turned completely black, no white of his eyeballs left at all.
His left eye flashed that weird animal at night iridescent color, and I stumbled backward. A car horn blared, and I turned to find an SUV or truck barreling toward me, the height of the lights telling me its size. I froze like a deer, trapped in the hypnotic power of the headlights while I felt certain I was going to die in the next second. Suddenly, the world lurched and rolled, and I found myself on the ground underneath the heap that was Griff. The only reason I knew it was him was the green T-shirt that was pressed against my face.
A moment passed, and he extracted himself from lying on top of me, shielding me from anything and everything that could have hurt me. As he stood, he helped me to my feet. Worried eyes skated over my body. “You okay?”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Was I okay? Was I having a mental breakdown? Seeing things that weren’t there? Before I could answer, the creepy guy hissed and started running toward us. I hadn’t realized how far we’d traveled when Griff pushed me out of the way until that moment.
The man was running across the street to us, and I would bet money that he was about to attack Griff, just like Brok had attacked Finn. Griff just stood there though, and I could swear he got bigger. I stayed put on the ground. It seemed the safest course of action, although at least half of me wanted to run and hide. The other half, the half that kept me where I was, knew on some basic, instinctual level that Griff would protect me, just like Finn had. Would he call me crazy like Finn had though? I mean, sure, he hadn’t used those exact words, but I’d been called enough names and told enough things to placate me in my life that I didn’t trust anyone was really telling the truth any more.
As the guy got closer, the black lines that had already started crawling across his face, as though someone were dripping paint onto him, were visible in stark relief. I couldn’t see Griff’s face, but whatever creepy dude saw there was enough to have him backpedaling. He couldn’t get away though, as Griff began to stalk across the empty street with such purpose and confidence that he was easily gaining on the guy. My rescuer was wrath personified. His whole body was coiled with tension, as though one false move would spring the trap of those fearsome muscles and launch the warrior inside him into action.
Danger radiated out of Griff, and the smaller man, who was currently tripping over his own feet as he tried to scurry away, seemed to realize that this wasn’t going to end well for him. I expected him to plead for mercy, to apologize, to babble incoherently until Griff walked away while snot and tears streamed down the other man’s face. What I didn’t expect was the tendrils of black smoke that seemed to leak from the corners of his mouth. At first, it was like a dribble of spit running down his chin, then it changed and morphed into the same black cloud that I had seen before.
“No, no, no, nonononono…” I didn’t even register I was saying the words aloud until Griff glanced over at me.
The billowing cloud spewed out of him like vomit out of a drunk girl. I couldn’t sit around and watch though. I was up and moving before I even knew what I was doing or where I was going. The only thing I knew for sure was that I couldn’t let that cloud thing get me again. I wouldn’t make it this time, I just knew it. If it was able to cut of my air supply again, I was done for.
* * *
Griff
When Tessa started to run away, I wanted to curse and had to make the split-second decision of either going after her or dealing with the demon in front of me. I pulled the dagger out from the sheath that ran across my back and set it ablaze before throwing it at the cloud and pinning it to the man on the ground. There was very little magic that worked in this realm, but I had never been happier that my fire was one of them.
The flames spread, consuming the cloud and the man underneath like vultures having their first meal in weeks. Within moments, all that was left of the demon and the man it had possessed was a pile of ash on the road. I retrieved my dagger and sheathed it before taking off in the same direction I’d seen Tessa running.
When Finn had first tasked me with babysitting duty, I’d told him he was full of shit and that there was no way our brethren were trying to hunt down a specific human. He’d begged and pleaded though, and as my stride ate up the pavement, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was right.
One distorted was one thing, but two? And going after the same woman? I wasn’t sure why she was attracting them, but whatever it was, I knew they wouldn’t stop until she was dead. When I hit a major intersection, I paused and pulled the hellish contact lenses I was forced to wear in public from my eyes, tossing them on the ground and lighting them up. They were toast within mere moments, and I used some of my natural talents to sense where our curious human had run off to.
Her heat signature led to the left, and I followed, steadily gaining ground. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain my eyes, but that was a problem for future Griff to solve. Right now, I just had to focus on finding her. After two more turns and a straight shot toward campus, I could see her.
At some point, she’d pulled off her shoes and was running barefoot through the streets. This was definitely not an area I would do that in. With all the broken beer bottles and occasional needles and condoms that lay around, you couldn’t pay me enough to take my shoes off. It didn’t matter that I had a natural immunity to most normal human diseases and infections. It was still just plain gross.
I sped up at the sight of her, and as I drew closer, she turned and looked over her shoulder at me, her mismatched eyes wild with fear. As soon as she saw me, she veered into the street, trying to put obstacles between us, though I wished she realized that I was on her side.
She didn’t look before crossing though, and a car was rounding the corner at the same time.
Tires screeched as the driver slammed on the brakes. It didn’t matter though. She flew through the air as the giant metal beast connected with her fragile body. Everything in me froze until I was just acting on instinct as I pushed my speed up to something that was beyond what a human in this realm would be capable of, just hoping that no one was watching. The driver had to be too distracted by staring at the person they’d just hit than looking to see me. At least that was what I hoped.
As I approached, the car swerved and the tires squealed against the asphalt as they peeled out, away from the scene of the accident. As I neared, I slowed, reducing my pace quickly so I didn’t overshoot her position, before sinking to the ground near her. She hadn’t moved, which worried the hell out of me. I needed her to be okay, especially since I’d promised Finn I would keep her safe. I didn’t want to deal with the hell he would raise if she was harmed, even if it wasn’t technically my fault. I mean, who just ran out into the road like that?
Gently, I laid my hand on her shoulder and said, “Tessa, can you hear me?”
No response came. My heart started battering against my ribs, which must have been fueled by the leftover adrenaline of the fight, not that it had been much of one. I hadn’t had a good fight since we’d shown up here.
I tried to cradle her head as I rolled her over and found not only had she probably broken her nose, but there was a nasty gash on her forehead as well. Her side was probably pretty banged up as well, not only from the impact with the car but with the ground too. I pulled my phone out and texted a 911 to the guys.
Within minutes, Finn and Dres were there, helping me pick her up and load her into our car. The fact that we’d been living around the corner from her was a lucky coincidence. What wasn’t a coincidence was us being in the area at all. We’d been sent in because of all the distorted that had been popping up on our radar. Clusters of those assholes were never a good sign. I wanted to take her to a human hospital, since I was worried she might have a concussion or some internal bleeding or something.
Three guys walking in with an unconscious girl would definitely draw attention, even if she was involved in a hit and run. That was one thing we had to avoid, so it was either dump her on the ER doorstep or take her back to our place. None of us spoke on the ride to our home, but there was an unacknowledged agreement that we would take care of the mess she was involved in.
I couldn’t speak for Finn and why he was so invested in her, but I could have sworn I felt magic coming off her earlier. If she was from one of the other realms, then Finn’s watch would’ve picked up her presence, wouldn’t it? I mean, that was what it was there for—to help us track the distorted that were infiltrating this realm and trying to cause mass destruction.
Finn carried her inside, giving me the side-eye the whole time, as though I were responsible for the asshole who hit her and drove away. We’d have to have a talk about that later. I couldn’t exactly stay on babysitting duty when she ran away, could I? I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.
“I’m going to shower,” I said, turning toward our bedrooms and bathroom.
“Aren’t you going to tell us what happened first?” Dres asked.
I knew the guy could pull the memories out of my head if he so chose, so I was grateful that he was trying to give me my privacy. Quickly, I recapped the night’s events, everything from her seeming to sense me at the bar, to the distorted that had clearly been waiting for her to appear outside once more.
“There is something about her…” Dres started but didn’t finish his thought. I couldn’t help but nod along. Finn had retrieved the first aid kit that we’d needed when we first came to this realm and was using it to clean up the scrapes on Tessa’s forehead and nose. He hadn’t been this interested in a woman since we got here. Most of us had our fair share of flings, or at least a little flirting here and there, but not Finn. He was all business, all the time.
The frustrating thing was he could turn on the charm at the drop of a hat and weasel his way into anywhere or get any information he was after, just by flashing a couple smiles. The women in this realm found me attractive enough, and so did some of the men, but I was usually too intimidating. Their bodies pumped out the scents of arousal and fear in equal measures. It was like they were constantly daring themselves to talk to me.
Tessa hadn’t responded that way. I hadn’t scented either off her, which was, if I was honest with myself, a little disappointing. Those blue and brown eyes of hers were something else. Looking into them was like being hypnotized, except I loved every second of it.
I shook my head. If Finn was interested, the last thing I wanted to do was interfere. Besides, it was about time the man let his metaphorical hair down, and if playing knight in shining armor was what it took to do that, then I was game to play along. For now, at least. On the other hand, if Finn and Tessa weren’t working out, I’d happily step in and take his place.
An image of her looking up at me from my bed swept into my mind, her mouth quirking up on one side while I peeled that black dress off her body.
“I’m going to shower now, if you boys have everything under control with your human here,” I rumbled, trying not to look at Tessa, even though my eyes were being drawn to her like a magnet.
They both just nodded at me, so I left, dreading the cold water that was about to be coating my skin. There were only two things I knew for sure in this moment—one, I needed the cold to get my mind right, even if I absolutely hated it, and two, Tessa wasn’t a nobody. I didn’t know who she was yet, but I knew on a gut level that she was important, which I’d be willing to bet was what Finn and Dres felt too. If our enigmatic earther felt the same way, then we might find ourselves in a very interesting situation. I just prayed Kai didn’t come home too soon, so that Tessa had a chance to gain her bearings first.
