Elemental Shadowed by Helen Scott

23

Tessa

Fear radiated down my spine from where the baby dragon was sitting. I knew some demons wanted to combine all five realms into one that they ruled over, but what if some of the dragons were involved as well? I mean there was a reason the quote about power corrupting people had stuck around for so long.

You question me, Laelak, the keeper of Atlantis, and my intentions with this world?the dragon asked me as a tendril of smoke left one of its nostrils. I could practically see the disbelief in its eyes.

I took a steadying breath and said, "I do. I don't know you, yet you seem to know about the stone and what's going on, so if you share what you know with us then I will consider giving it to you, otherwise I'll hold onto it, thanks."

You are bold, daughter of Eve. I like that. Your colleagues are not despite the fact that they are some of the strongest creatures created. Would you like me to eat them for you?

"No, thank you. I quite like them as they are."

As you wish. You may not trust me yet, but you will, given time. Once your dragon has matured and you have gained the others you'll come back and see me. I will be waiting.When it turned and walked away, fading into nothingness as it went, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Why didn't you give him the stone?" Finn demanded.

"Because my dragon is scared of him. Why would a baby dragon be scared of an elder?" I asked, trying to keep calm while he vented his fear.

"You don't know what you've done."

"You're right. I have no idea what I've done other than trust my instincts. If I'm supposed to be this powerful key, then surely my instincts are good for something. I know you're scared. I am too, but fear doesn't mean we should trust the first person who comes along, or dragon in this case." I pushed to my feet and began to wander back to the entrance of the temple. "I'm supposed to stabilize the four realms, to make it so that you survive and don't all implode on one another or something, right? So, I think we need to get everything together. There is no point stabilizing one realm when the other three are still unbalanced and could destroy you anyway."

"I think what Finn was trying to say was thanks for not serving us up as snacks," Griff said as he walked over to meet me at the temple entrance.

"I would never let someone eat you, unless it's me that is," I said as I grinned up at him.

"I think I'm the one that's supposed to be doing the eating out of the two of us, don't you?" He smiled and flashed me his canines.

Finn joined us a moment later. "Sorry, I'm just a little shaken up. I mean the ocean is fucking purple. The ecosystem is going to be thrown off with the deaths of the sea beasts and we aren't even sure if we caused whatever happened or if we can fix it."

I snorted. "Welcome to my world. You think it was easy taking in what you were telling me when we were in my realm and then showing up in the depths of some temple on Atlantis all by myself? At this point, I'm trusting my gut and you guys and that's about it."

"It is a lot to take in." Finn nodded. "We should get back."

"Do we really know that they are dead?" I asked quietly.

Finn paused mid stride and seemed to think for a moment before he said, "I suppose there's no direct evidence, but they wouldn't all surface like that for no reason, and they certainly wouldn't stay that way."

"Maybe it's not as bad as you think," I said carefully as I put my armband back on and I set off down the path.

My baby dragon disappeared, and I held the stone tightly in my hand as we progressed. I couldn't lie, I was nervous about Laelak appearing again and demanding the stone in exchange for our freedom or something. It didn't happen though. We made it all the way to the bridge without incident, so I tucked it back into my pocket and hoped that the voices wouldn't come back.

When I stepped off the bridge and nothing happened, I was relieved. What had happened before was more than a little uncomfortable. By the time we had crossed the farm ring and made it to the city I was exhausted. Maybe that was why I didn't see it coming.

One of the guards nodded to us as we crossed over and the market was still fairly busy. We wove through the crowd, sweaty bodies pressing in as we made our way between stalls. The scent of spices and cooking fish filled the air making my stomach growl loudly enough that a few people around us chuckled.

"You should feed the girl, old man," one of the stall owners said as he held out a platter of some kind of cooked fish.

"That's what I'm trying to do if I could get through this crowd," Finn joked.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I couldn't help but feel uneasy with this many people milling around.

"Firesmith, why don't you give us a show!" the same man called.

"You know that's against the law," Griff said, his voice barely above a snarl.

"What if I threaten your girl?" the man demanded, the joking tone suddenly gone from his voice.

I spun around trying to get a look at him and figure out what the hell was going on, but Griff and Finn both pushed me back behind them away from the merchant. When two sets of hands grabbed my arms I yelped, but they were dragging me away before my guys could even turn back around. I kicked back and let my body go limp; dead weight was much harder to haul anyway.

Finn and Griff were pushing through the crowd that seemed to be actively trying to stall them. When my dead weight didn't seem to slow down the men carrying me I lunged, trying to grab onto anything within reach.

My fingers slipped against a number of objects. I couldn't gain any purchase against the smooth wood or loose fabrics that my fingers found.

My eyes were locked onto my guys as I continued to flail about. If the men hauling me away hadn't been so strong or uninterrupted, then I felt like I would have been able to do something, anything, to actually get away from them or hurt them. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a man standing there in black and white robes who was flanked on each side by men who stood like bodyguards.

When I looked back around it took me a moment to locate Finn and Griff in the crowd, but I knew when I did that something must have tipped them off that the men carrying me were almost to their goal. Maybe it was the panic that was surging through my system or maybe they could see where I was heading. Either way, their own faces had changed and before I knew what was happening Finn had surged forward and a tidal wave of water was coming toward us.

It crashed to the ground before reaching us, but I could tell that he was just warming up. It was all over his body language; the initial wave had been to get people out of the way. I knew my Atlantean warrior would never want to hurt innocents, and though some of those people were getting in his way on purpose, it was hard to know whether all of them were.

The next wave seemed to be as tall as the palace itself as it rose above us. I had a moment to be terrified before I remembered my dragon friend and my new gills. Even if the water overwhelmed me, that no longer meant certain death. Now I could survive under water for as long as I needed to.

As the water fell, I got one look at Finn and Griff through the broken wave and I felt sorry for anyone who was ever their enemy. My lovers were terrifying when they wanted to be, and as scared as I was at that moment none of it was to do with them.

When the wave reached us, it tossed us into the air as though we were no more than driftwood. The men had to let me go as the water wriggled between their hands and my skin making me slipperier than an eel.

There was no way for me to direct my own course, so I had no choice where I was going, and the current of the water was too strong. I gasped for air before it completely consumed me, and I was left tumbling through the air as though I was going through rapids without a raft.

I tried to reach for my armband unsure how to trigger my change, but I couldn't get my hand to come around my body. The pressure from the water was too strong.

As I surfaced for a brief moment, I was able to grab a few breaths of air, and I heard a yell behind me. It felt as though I'd been plucked from the wave as easily as a leaf from a tree.

I cried out as I went into free fall only to land in the tail end of the wave as it washed through the market area. The remaining water wasn't as deep and as I impacted it, I felt my butt scrape against the ground before I bobbed back to the surface.

Something had hit me, or I had hit it. I didn't know what it was, but it hurt. I couldn't even scream again, everything in me was focused on the pain on my back.

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. I felt hands on my shoulder but couldn't react.

When I was shoved away, I collapsed on the floor and blinked up at the person standing above me. I could barely understand what I was seeing through the pain.

"You will not survive this battle. Go back to your realm and pray that by the time we arrive you are old and gray and ready to go to your grave. We will have your realm, and nothing can stop us," the man said, his face barely visible from under his black hood.

The white material that went across the chest of his robes was pink now, and I wondered what had rubbed against him. My mind scattered with random thoughts as my body ached.

It was only when he raised his hand and wiped the bloody blade on his sleeve that I understood I'd been stabbed, in the back no less. He glanced ahead of me before he turned and ran with his buddies in tow.

My hand frantically searched my dress pocket for the lump of the stone and when I found it, I breathed a tiny bit easier. With what was remaining of my energy I shifted my armband until it was loose. My dragon appeared.

"Look after this for me," I said and held out my hand with the stone in the palm.

The dragon looked at me with worried eyes before he plucked the rock from my palm and held it in his jaw, flying up and away before anyone else could get near me. I blinked and the next thing I knew Finn and Griff were standing over me. Their faces twisted in anger and outrage.

"You carry her. I'll clear the way." Finn's voice was one of command.

I expected Griff to chafe at being ordered around, but he just looked at me with sad eyes. "This is going to hurt, dove, no way around that I'm afraid."

My head bobbed in response, and that was about all I was able to do before his hands slid under me and picked me up. A scream tore from my throat as he lifted me. Before I could even process what was happening, my vision faded to black.