Broken Elements (22 page)

I started to walk toward him, ignoring Sera’s expression that suggested she had a few more arguments she’d like to make. I only made it a few feet before a black ball came hurtling out of the darkness. It landed on Brian’s chest, clawed his face several times, then took off into the trees before he could react. The entire attack took mere seconds, but that was all the time Sera needed to recover. She stood, simultaneously preparing more fire.

Brian scanned the yard, weighing the likelihood of success against a fourth opponent. I could just make out the cat circling back around, preparing for a second attack. No one spoke.

I dared not look away from Brian. From behind me came a roar that seemed to shake the very earth, louder than any storm could ever hope to be. Heavy footfalls moved in my direction, and a massive dark bear moved in front of me and Sera, nearly blocking us from Brian’s sight. He stood on his hind legs, a full seven feet of muscle and rage, and screamed. I peered around his side to see Brian slowly backing away. It was the only thing he could do. I had seen Mac’s eyes, and Brian’s death lay within them.

“You’re not leaving, Brian.” Vivian’s voice carried to all of us. He turned in her direction, a growing look of disbelief on his face. Glancing down, I saw the cause. Vivian had wrapped earth around his feet and ankles, effectively trapping him.

Even that did not render him weak or contrite. He shook his head, amusement plain as he looked at her. “Really, Vivian? You think you can hold me?” He glanced around at his surroundings, then looked at each of us in turn. “Yes, you’ve got me. Look how very helpless I am. Whatever will you do with me now?”

Sera refused to play. “Us? Nothing. We’re not killers. We’ll let Josiah decide your fate.” She pulled out her phone, but before she could even finish dialing, a horrendous noise caught our attention.

Brian laughed, delighted. “Ironic, isn’t it? The fire forgot about the fire.”

He was right. Fueled by Sera’s energy, the fire had clung to the dead tree throughout the storm, hungrily eating away at the dry wood. The loud cracking we’d heard was the sound of wood splitting. As we watched, the burning tree toppled toward the ground, heading directly for us. We scrambled, moving hurriedly out of its path. When it landed, it fell on nothing but empty earth.

“Is everyone okay?” Vivian asked. Sera and I were on the ground, several feet from the tree’s new location, and Mac hovered above us, shielding us with his body. I could see Simon running the length of the tree, meowing loudly but clearly unhurt. We were safe.

Then we realized what Simon was saying. Brian was gone.

Chapter 21

We retreated to the living room, huddling together for comfort and acutely aware that where once there’d been six, now there were only five. The gap created by Brian’s absence was a silent recrimination, a reminder of our faith in one so undeserving of that trust. I was sipping heavily honeyed tea to coat my throat, and I kept catching Sera pressing a hand against her chest, whether in memory of Brian’s assault or to hold the pain within, I could not say. Physically, we were fine. Our emotional state was an entirely different matter.

Sera paced, and energy sparked and crackled across her skin. The way her heels spun on the carpet, I worried it would ignite from the friction. I knew she wanted to burst through the door, start her car, and pursue Brian wherever he might flee. She only remained in the cabin because we had absolutely no idea where to begin our search. Her frustration kept her moving in circles, insisting on action of some kind, no matter how impotent.

Mac leaned against the wall, arms crossed, face still. He and Simon had attempted to track Brian after he escaped, but the scent disappeared at the river and did not appear on the other side. They’d remained in animal form only a short time after confirming that he was gone, but the beast still stared through Mac’s eyes. They remained the same color in both animal and human forms, but there was no mistaking the difference. What I’d seen the first morning on the deck was a mere shade of what I now witnessed. His friends were safe, and he would keep us that way, but anyone else who entered this room would find themselves broken and bloodied.

Vivian pulled her legs up into a tight ball and sat perfectly still, gaze fixed at a spot in the distance that no one else could see. After shifting, Simon had changed into a clean outfit and was now sitting on the sofa, looking pristine and unconcerned.

“I never really liked him,” he said, picking idly at a non-existent piece of lint on his sweater. We all stared at him. “I mean it. He always seemed a little too glib for me. People should care about something.”

“He cared about his uncle,” I said.

“You think that was an act?” asked Sera. “How much of everything he did was an act? Maybe staying close to his uncle just gave him a chance to alter the police report years ago, making us believe he was dead.” Disgust suddenly clouded her features. “Damn it. You realize this means Carmichael was right about Brian? Please don’t make me admit that to him.”

Vivian released a short, harsh bark of laughter. “I was raised by one of the nation’s premier psychiatrists, and I saw nothing. My mom would be so ashamed of me.”

I scooted over to her and squeezed her hand. “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have known.” I spoke the words as much for my own benefit as for hers. “None of us could have seen what he was. That man tonight, I swear he wasn’t the Brian we all knew. It felt like someone else was looking through his eyes, and our friend had vanished completely.”

“But this has been inside him for a long time,” Vivian argued. “He killed people. If he ever was sane, that was a long time ago.”

“When he killed his girlfriend,” Sera said. The realization caused her to drop in place, the memories too dreadful and too heavy to continue pacing. “And our other friends. He killed them, and just kept being our friend. Oh, god. He helped kill Christopher.” Her voice broke on the final word. I had never seen Sera so close to crying before.

I walked to her and forced her to look at me, giving her something else to focus on. “Before, it wasn’t about us. He killed some people we knew, but he also killed strangers, any human that dated elementals. I think, years ago, he just wanted to kill. It fed his sense of superiority. It was more directed this time.”

Sera’s control was already returning, her sharp mind reviewing all the previously incomprehensible actions. “He was sending a message. And I don’t think he meant it for me, Ade.”

I shook my head. “He killed men you dated, too.” The evidence of Brian’s obsession with me was mounting, and I would clutch at any straw to keep from being the focal point of his insanity. But even as I spoke the words, I saw one simple detail we had all missed. “The first two deaths were men I dated. Both shifters, and god, if you had heard the way he spoke about them.” I glanced at Mac and Simon. “He drank the pure-blooded Kool-Aid on this one. He hates shifters. Cal and Mark were the first to die. Mark was found later, so we missed the order.”

Sera caught on quickly. “And when no one told you about Cal, and Mark’s body wasn’t found…”

“He killed Christopher. The one person whose death was guaranteed to bring me back.”

Sera started speaking faster. “And then he made sure we found him. The earth must have killed him, and they dragged him away from the water.”

Vivian caught on. “That depression, it could have been caused by a sheet of ice. It would be a nice, easy path from the water to the trees.”

“Exactly. After that, Aidan didn’t know any of the victims. They were all men I dated.”

“So, when they found Richard and the soil in your trunk, they had a damn good reason to arrest you,” I added.

“Which only left you more isolated,” Sera said.

“Brian never planned on having me arrested, either. I think Vivian and Simon are right—the burnt body had to be Josiah’s work. It was intended to free you, but because they still suspected me from the previous murders, it backfired on me.” We stared at each other across the room, the pattern painfully obvious once we put the pieces together. “For Brian, this was always about me.”

Sera nodded. “I’d love to tell you that you have a damned high opinion of yourself, but I’m pretty sure this time, you’re right.”

I wanted to argue some more, to find some reason our theory was wrong. There wasn’t one. I settled for an irate glare in Sera’s general direction and added a much needed dollop of whiskey to my dwindling tea, figuring it was good for my throat.

“I’ve already notified my father. Now that we know who we’re looking for, Brian will actually be pretty easy to catch.”

One thing still didn’t make any sense. “But the firebomb. Brian was here. Even if his partner threw it, what did he hope to accomplish?”

Sera’s face became grim. “I don’t know, but we’ll find out, and we’ll get the bastard’s name while we’re at it. My father has ways to extract the information, I’m sure. Hell, it looks like he’s even more ruthless than I suspected.” She grimaced, then appeared to set that thought aside. She had enough to deal with at the moment without also considering a homicidally overprotective father. “And, until Brian and his partner are found, we protect the hell out of you.”

I protested, but each face that looked back at me was determined and immoveable. I knew that none of my arguments would be seriously considered, and I couldn’t even blame them. If a powerful and psychotic serial killer was fixated on one of them, I’d feel the same way. Reluctantly, and with very little grace, I agreed.

I lied. I waited until everyone was asleep, then another hour after that just to be sure, before slipping quietly downstairs. I took nothing but my handbag with me, figuring I could buy some toiletries en route. Mainly, I wanted to get out of there before anyone figured out what I was doing. More to the point, I wanted to get out of there before I had time to reconsider my plan. It was foolish, and I knew it was best to avoid obviously foolish behavior.

Unfortunately, no matter how loudly that voice of caution screamed at me, I could not stop remembering the unhinged look in Brian’s eyes, an expression that promised deep wells of pure crazy, and his absolute conviction that we were somehow connected. Brian, it turned out, was half-ice, and he had fallen into madness. I was half-water, and I felt madness beckon every time my own power danced away from me. And, a seven-hour drive away, another half-water sat locked in a mental institution, his own battle with sanity long lost. I had to know.

That did not mean I had to share my concerns. I did not doubt my friends cared for me. I did not doubt they would support me if they knew. I was less sure, however, that they would be able to view me the same way if what I was beginning to fear turned out to be true. I couldn’t stand for my friends to constantly be searching for signs of impending madness or the occasional homicidal tendency.

Right now, it was just a theory. When I had an answer to my questions, I’d figure out what, if anything, they needed to know.

Something seemed to go wrong with half human elementals. Not all of us, but even two was enough to cause dread to settle heavy in my stomach. Considering the trouble I had with my magic, I suspected I made three. I had to know if I flirted with the same madness that had claimed Trent Pond and Brian. I could not wait another week or two for that knowledge, the fear gnawing away inside me the whole time. But while I needed to know, they did not. This was my journey to make, and mine alone.

I told myself that I wasn’t being wholly idiotic. Impetuous, yes, but not unsafe. Josiah would find Brian soon. Our role in this investigation was finished. The sole practical reason for me to linger in the area was to enable my friends to protect me, and that only placed them in greater danger. Where I was going, Brian would never look, leaving me as safe as if I remained in the mountains, and the rest of them far safer. I knew I was justifying my actions, but my arguments sounded almost credible. If I repeated them to myself for the duration of the drive, I might even come to believe them.

The night was clear, the storm long passed. Sera’s car was parked down the driveway, forcing me to take a long walk that left me far too exposed. I almost turned around in that moment, the warm cabin beckoning me with its promise of safety.

Instead, I pulled water to me, ready to be used at the merest hint of noise, and began walking to the car. Every muscle begged to run, but that would cause too much noise, and the churning gravel could easily wake the others. I took slow, cautious steps, stopping frequently to listen, trying to hear any threatening sounds over the rhythmic roar of my own heart.

One step, then another, and finally I was there. I slid the keys into the lock with a shaking hand and gingerly lifted the handle. Behind me, the gravel shifted. It was the smallest of sounds, a bare hint of another’s presence, but I knew I was no longer alone.

Without pausing, I turned and flung the gathered water toward the intruder with the force of a gale wind. It caught my target, lifting it several inches in the air before depositing it back on the ground. One very wet and utterly terrified rabbit stared at me, then hopped quickly away, severely regretting the decision to emerge from its home on this particular night. I spared a quick mental apology for the poor creature and hoped his warm rabbit home wasn’t far away.

I slid into the front seat and locked the door. Seconds later, I was moving as swiftly as I dared down the drive. In the rearview mirror, the house remained dark. No one followed me, and as I turned onto the River Road and then merged onto Highway 80, I kept my eyes glued to the rearview mirror as much as I dared and continued to do so for the next hour. I took several unnecessary exits and returned to the freeway. No one appeared behind me.

Finally, I felt the knot of tension inside me unwind the slightest bit. I popped out Sera’s tape of Iggy & the Stooges. She hadn’t changed the station since I last rode with her, and while Loretta Lynn sang about living “High on a Mountaintop” with her family, I began my descent off this one and away from my own.

I drove through the night, only stopping for gas at an independent station in a small town, the kind that looked as if its version of a security system involved a baseball bat and a large dog. Between her father and the two agents, I knew Sera could find me if she put her mind to it, and I didn’t want to make it easy for her. Tomorrow, I would return, and I’d willingly take all the grief they wanted to give me for my unplanned field trip, but I needed the head start.

And so, when the phone rang at nine o’clock the next morning, I almost didn’t pick up. Sera would have questions I wasn’t yet ready to answer. My thumb was on the phone, ready to send the call to voicemail, when a thoroughly annoying sense of guilt caused me to hesitate. She would be worried. If she vanished while a killer with a hard-on for her fiery self was on the loose, I’d want to hear her voice.

If the golden rule wasn’t enough to make me answer, I was already parked before my destination, an inoffensive, forgettable building that was just coming to life for the day. Even if they borrowed a helicopter, I would already have completed my interview and be on the road back to Tahoe. Reluctantly, I answered the phone.

“Where the fuck are you?” Sera demanded before I had even spoken. Behind her I could hear raised voices and loud crashing sounds.

“I left a note.”

“A note. Yes, a note. ‘Have something to do. Be back tonight.’ I’m surprised you didn’t add a smiley face at the end of it.”

“Don’t be rude. You know I would never draw a smiley face in my life.”

“I am going to kill you.” An awkward pause interrupted her anger. It seemed this was one hyperbolic threat we could never use with our friends again. “Too soon?”

I laughed, anger at Brian intermingled with affection for Sera. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Fine. You live. But give me one reason I shouldn’t report my car stolen.”

“Do you really want it impounded far from home?”

“How far?” Her voice was too innocent, a tone at which she had little practice. She sounded like a snake oil salesman.

“Not so far that I won’t be home late tonight. I’m looking into something. No one knows where I am, which means no one else should be able to find me, either. I’m going to have to sleep in the afternoon, but I’ll head back this evening. You won’t even have time to pilfer my stuff.”

“So, you’re tired. Did you drive through the night?”

“Stop drawing a mental radius of my possible locations, Sera.” A crashing sound reverberated through the line. “What the hell’s going on over there?”

“What do you think? Mac is currently dismantling the deck. You better get back before he moves on to the main house, because I prefer to sleep with four walls surrounding me.”