Water: The Elementals Book Three Read online

  She may have been an all-powerful Water Elemental, but her love of her medium didn’t extend to disgusting acrid sweat.

  The opening of the bore tunnel was just a few hundred yards away from the warehouse that stored the drilling equipment. The executive gibbered and pleaded, offering her bribe after bribe along the way.

  “A million dollars,” he shouted as Serin reached the edge of the aquifer. Gleaming turquoise water lapped the edges of the tunnel, a galaxy of bioluminescent patterns appearing on the surface.

  There were stars, constellation patterns she didn’t recognize, as well as occult symbols unique to T’Kaieri. The latter was formed in deference to her. The Agunte were speaking her language.

  “What the hell is that?” a mystified voice asked. It was the merc. He’d followed them out.

  Her nose wrinkled. “Have you seriously never looked in this hole?”

  He shook his head. “Sayer told us to stay away. We were to secure the site from an unspecified threat… You, I guess.”

  She gave the merc the side-eye, still holding Sayer by the scruff. “So are we going to fight some more or what?”

  The merc stilled, appearing to think about it. Then he shrugged. “I don’t think they paid us enough to kill an entire species and fight off Superwoman. I’m going to pull my team back.”

  “Good,” she said, although calling them back was redundant. She’d already taken care of the team.

  With no hesitation, Serin let go of Sayer, dropping him straight into the hole where the Agunte were waiting.

  He didn’t even have time to scream. The star patterns disappeared, and the blue-green water turned black with blood.

  The merc paled, then turned green. “Fuck,” he said, gagging and clutching his throat.

  Serin took a deep breath. “He’s already gone. His suffering was brief. It was better than he deserved, trust me.”

  “All right then,” the man muttered, backing up a step. Clearing his throat, he held out his hand. “I’m Reynolds.”

  She glanced at the hand before returning her attention to the pool. Reynolds pulled his hand back, holding it against his chest before giving her outfit a once-over. In his world, apparently, not too many women fought in silk and high heels. “I guess buying you dinner is out of the question.”

  Serin blinked. That hadn’t happened in a while. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time a man of any species had asked her out. But then again, she didn’t normally let anyone see her do her work and live.

  Speaking of which…

  The flat spelled stone heated the moment her fingers grasped it from the bottom of her bag. It was one of many, all with different purposes. This one altered memories—specifically those of small-to-medium-sized groups.

  The spell on this memory charm was originally crafted by one of her ancestors, then perfected by Serin’s mother, Dalasini. Her mother was skilled in spellcraft, but memory charms were her obsession.

  By the time she withdrew the stone, it was hot as coal. But Serin didn’t mind the burn. It was a nice contrast to the cold she’d felt in the ocean’s depths.

  Reynolds was still speaking. Unbelievable. He was describing the tacos at a local restaurant, still trying to convince her to go out with him.

  She held up a hand. “I hate to interrupt, but there’s a little something I have to take care of first.”

  “What is it?”

  He almost seemed as if he wanted to be helpful. His expression soured when he caught sight of her fist swinging toward him, leveling him with the first punch.

  Reynolds dropped like a stone at her feet.

  “The bigger they come…” With a sigh, she knelt and heaved him up. Though she could bear his weight with no problem, the massive man sprawled awkwardly over her shoulder. She dumped him in the center of the warehouse, rounding up the other members of his team and piling them around him—a groaning mountain of muscles and steroids.

  She kissed the hot stone before tossing it on top of the pile. There was an icy blue flash. As a group, the team of mercenaries fell asleep, a slumber too deep for snoring.

  When they woke up, they wouldn’t remember her or what had happened to their employer.

  Serin was careful to wash all traces of herself away before walking back to the pit for a formal parting with the Agunte.

  The water in the pit was clear now, luminescing in a kaleidoscope more psychedelic than any rave or high-end laser light show. The Agunte wanted to celebrate their victory with her. They beckoned her with their lights, inviting her to the warmth of their home deep under the ground.

  “I’m sorry,” she said with true regret. “Perhaps another time. Are you ready to close this entrance?”

  A dance of squiggles lit up the water as they tried to convince her to join them one more time, but Serin stood firm. She had to leave. Jordan was waiting for her.

  Yes, close it, they signaled. And thank you.

  Putting her hand over her heart, she bowed formally. “Till we meet again. Now, for your own safety, you should depart to the deeper recesses of your home.”

  She knelt, then dipped her hand into the water. “It’s time,” she called, just in case there were any stragglers close to the surface.

  Her voice reverberated through the aether. She sat at the water’s edge, waiting for the telltale ripple that heralded the arrival of her sister.

  Gia arrived in moments, the rustle of shifting earth the only sound.

  “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

  “Damn, you’ve gotten better,” Gia said, coming up beside her and offering her hand. “There was a time when you wouldn’t have heard that.”

  Serin took it and stood. Gia embraced her, then bowed in turn to the Agunte.

  Sharp senses were part of Serin’s gift, but her sister was older—the senior Elemental. Gia could mask her arrival and departures with the greatest skill, far better than any witch, shifter, or other Elemental for that matter.

  For the better part of a century, Gia could sneak up on Serin, scaring the crap out of her. And then Gia would giggle like a two-year-old.

  Serin smiled at her sister, wishing for more time to dawdle.

  “Remember when we used to paint the town red?” Gia asked, reading her mind and the nostalgic turn she’d taken.

  “You mean when we used to rumble with an out-of-control black coven at dusk, then knock over a shifter bar in the evening?” she replied with a smile.

  Gia grinned. “Then we’d have a nightcap with the wood fae, drinking all their best mead—the centuries-old stuff.”

  Serin sighed, the longing for those carefree days suddenly intense. Though they still saw each other and collaborated on cases regularly, there was less and less time for fun. “I wish we could relive old times, but…”

  “I know, I know,” Gia said with understanding. “Jordan is waiting.”

  “Yes.” Neither spoke. They simply stood side by side, their arms touching.

  Then Gia raised her hands, using her powers of Earth to shift the ground beneath them. Deep in the borehole, the soil responded to her call, moving and rolling like a wave until the opening was sealed.

  Serin could have dynamited the hole shut, but she wanted to make sure the ground appeared undisturbed—as if the mining work had never even begun.

  That had been her plan all along. Serin had spent most of yesterday afternoon laying the groundwork. She was framing Sayer for embezzlement—a crime he was guilty of, albeit on a much smaller scale.

  According to the new and carefully hidden records, the reports on this area had been faked. There was no oil reserve for hundreds of miles. The employment records, progress updates, and payroll were a sham. Sayer pocketed the funds allocated by the company. At least, that was what they were going to think.

  Gia knew her plan. It resembled many of the others she and Serin used in the past when their marks were human. Greed was one of the classics. When the relentless drive for profit ruled a company or organization
, legal or illegal, their job was half-done for them.

  “Where will you go next?” Serin asked, savoring the night’s warmth before she had to make her way down to the sea.

  “Home, for a time.” Gia was the oldest Elemental, but her ties on this earth were as binding as Serin’s. Though her immediate family was long gone, her blood lived on all over the world, but most was still concentrated deep in the heart of Mexico in the village she called home.

  Like their sister Logan, Gia was blessed. Their homes were places of rest, where time with their families provided a respite from their work. For Serin, home was…different. She was a Water Elemental.

  “I should go,” she said.

  Her sister stopped her with a hand to the shoulder. She pulled Serin into another warm embrace.

  “It’s date night, isn’t it? What does Jordan have planned for you tonight?”

  “Candlelight dinner, and a romantic drive up the coast to a new nightspot to dance under the stars.”

  “He always goes the extra mile, doesn’t he?” Gia mused as they walked a few miles south, downhill away from the dig site.

  Between the trees, crickets sang their nightly serenade.

  “Like always,” Serin replied, tasting the night air.

  They reached the ravine at the base of the hill. Gia dug her hands into the earth, swirling it around the way a child splashed into the ocean. She felt for the ripple of water buried deep, tapping it and drawing it to the surface. The formerly dry stream bed became a torrent, one that would eventually reach the sea.

  With one last embrace, Serin parted from her sister and went to meet her mate, wondering what dress she should wear. The red was Jordan’s favorite, but she preferred the green.

  Less than an hour later, she reached the Caislean Hotel in Cabos San Lucas, the beachfront five-star hotel Jordan had chosen for their stay in Baja California.

  The room was a mess. The rosewood and teak coffee table and chairs were smashed to pieces. Cotton filler from the plush couch cushions littered the room, and there was broken glass everywhere.

  An ominous splash of blood was in the center of the shards. A quick search revealed nothing was missing—nothing except her bonded mate, Jordan.

  2

  Three Weeks Later

  The roar of the ocean filled Serin’s ears. She blinked against the bright sunlight, wondering why it was so much louder out here on the bluffs of T’Kaieri than it was on the beach itself.

  Not a big hand-holder, Diana, her Fire Elemental sister, pressed against her side. The pressure was comforting, although Serin couldn’t feel her heat. Not today.

  “I’m so sorry about this,” Diana murmured as the pallbearers brought the coffin down the winding path from the temple.

  They were carrying Jordan’s body.

  After Serin discovered her bonded was missing, she had crisscrossed the globe in a frantic search. Failing to find even a trace of him, she came home to the island to discover their archives had been raided. Many dangerous artifacts had gone missing. The exact number was unknown. The archivists were still compiling a list under the direction of Diana’s mate, world-renowned archeologist and scholar Alec Broussard.

  Alec’s presence made the islanders almost as anxious as the Fire Elemental did. It was the first time a vampire had ever set foot on T’Kaieri.

  The line of mourners broke as Uncle John approached. He’d found Jordan’s body at his parents’ house. There had been poison on the kitchen table, along with a note containing a single word—sorry.

  The body had been prepared by John, Jordan’s only living relative, according to his family’s traditions. Jordan’s body was going to interred in the ground instead of being buried at sea. It was a break of a millennia-old island tradition.

  “Thank you,” Serin replied in a low voice as the men marched past them.

  Uncle John paused to touch her arm before skittering away. Diana raised a brow and jerked her head, silently asking if she should step back so the mourners could access Serin more easily.

  Serin reached down, surreptitiously taking hold of the hem of Diana’s shirt in an unmistakable don’t-go-anywhere sign. The Fire Elemental’s presence was an effective deterrent against the flood of funeral goers spilling into the valley. Her sister-in-arms made people nervous, something useful at times like this.

  Even Serin’s parents were giving them a wide berth. It wasn’t that they disliked Diana, but the Fire Elemental didn’t go out of her way to make people comfortable. She liked it better that way‚ with a few exceptions.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Gia to come back?” Diana asked as the elders continued their snail-paced shuffle to the open grave.

  Serin shook her head, her eyes fixed on the plain ash coffin. “No, she and Logan have to keep on following leads and clearing cases.”

  Their mission hadn’t ended just because Serin’s bonded was dead. She was going to have to return to work herself sometime soon.

  Her father stepped forward, beginning what promised to be a long prayer.

  The service lasted an hour. Offerings of fruit and fresh flowers were laid at the bottom of the grave before the box was haltingly lowered by some of the younger islanders with the help of a few ropes.

  Serin winced when one end of the coffin jerked and dropped a few inches. The men struggled to right the box.

  Diana leaned closer. “Do they need help?” she whispered.

  “They’re fine,” Serin lied as the box resumed its shaky descent.

  As the deceased’s bonded, her job was to stoically look on. Plus, there was every chance Diana stepping forward would cause the frail pallbearers to panic and drop the coffin altogether.

  “Are you sure?” her sister whispered as the coffin careened again.

  “They’ll muddle through,” Serin said bracingly. “Although, I think we’ll go back to burial at sea after this.”

  “Might be wise.”

  Forcing her eyes to stay open, Serin couldn’t stop from sighing in relief when the coffin finally touched down.

  John nodded at her. She stepped forward, picking up a handful of soil from the edge of the grave as he’d instructed earlier.

  With every eye on her, she opened her fist, letting the soil rain onto the lid of the box. Diana came forward, then repeated the gesture. Then both stepped back to allow John and the others to do the same as the island’s few children began a solemn requiem.

  The lengthy line of mourners filed past. One of the elders came forward, circling to Serin’s far side to keep a small buffer between herself and her sister.

  “You must be devastated,” Elianne said, her withered hands covering Serin’s own. “But you must be strong. She has a plan. Even Her chosen cannot always know what it is.”

  “Thank you,” Serin said stiffly, squeezing Elianne’s hand in return. The woman’s thin lips parted as if she were about to launch into more platitudes, but Diana shifted her weight. A flicker of red lashes and Elianne excused herself, hobbling away with a little more speed than was typical.

  The setting sun dipped below the horizon. People began to leave, returning to their homes for the evening meal.

  Uncle John broke away from the crowd.

  “Would you excuse me, my dear?” he said to Diana. “I would like to have a word with my niece-in-law.”

  Diana stayed where she was, glancing at Serin for confirmation.

  She gave Diana the tiniest of nods. John waited for the Fire Elemental to walk away before offering his arm, one of the charming, old-world gestures that had endeared him to everyone on the island.

  “Your sisters are very protective of you my dear. That’s good. You need to lean on them now. I know how hard this must be. I can only imagine how it was, feeling him go like that.”

  Serin pressed her lips tighter, nodding as they stopped before the end of the bluff. Below them, the sea lapped at the rocks. It was far quieter now that the coffin was in the ground.

  “He was a
very devoted mate.”

  John patted her hand. “Yes, he was. I’m so sorry you had to experience that. I know how terrible it must have been for you.” He trailed off, wiping his eyes.

  “Yes,” Serin whispered, refusing to say anything more.

  An Elemental knew when their mate was in trouble. When Gia’s mate Marco died, Gia said she’d felt the devastating blow halfway around the world. The same had happened to Logan when her werewolf had been hurt, though Connell had been lucky enough to survive his wounds.

  “Yes, he was so in love with you. My heart will always be heavy when I think of all that might have been…” John’s voice roughened. He blinked rapidly, turning to the sea. “I hope you don’t mind my insisting on a burial. I understand your connection to the ocean, but I just wasn’t comfortable with him out there, all alone. I’m afraid I’m one of those people who love the beach, but find these depths too vast and cold. I don’t want him to feel lost wherever he is.”

  Wrapping her arms around her middle, she said nothing.

  He twisted his head, checking over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. His cloudy yellow eyes were wide and red. “I know what people are saying about Jordan, trying to tie him to the thefts. They stop talking about it whenever I get too close, but I’m old, not deaf.”

  He broke off, swiping at his eyes. “Things look unbelievably bad, but I swear he would never take part in anything that would hurt you. Not willingly.”

  Serin took a shaky breath. “I will discover the truth. You have my word.”

  “I know you will,” John said, hesitating. “You and your sisters are the most dogged and determined creatures I’ve ever met. It’s simply that… Well, it seems much more likely now that Jordan was involved.”

  He turned away again. “I don’t know what he got up to those last few months of his life. Someone must have threatened or blackmailed him. Whatever it was, I want you to know I don’t blame you for not seeing it. I certainly didn’t, and the boy lived with me for years after his parents passed on to their reward. I should have known he was in trouble.”