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The Elemental Four: Chapter Eight

Ever since I was a child, I’ve hated grown men touching me.  Don’t ask me why, I just do.  I wasn’t going to put up with it, not from anybody. 

So when Marcus grabbed my hand, I pretended to slump to the ground.  Sighing in frustration, he bent down to pull me up.  That was when I bit him.  My teeth latched onto his forearm and dug in deep, drawing blood.  He shouted in pain and anger, backhanding me violently enough that I was knocked backwards into a tree-trunk. 

Snarling, he stepped towards me.  I crabbed backwards, wincing in anticipation. 

“Don’t touch her!”  Caleb thrust his palms out at Marcus, and he flew backwards, eyes comically wide, before his skull smashed into a low-hanging branch with a sickening thud, cutting his flight painfully short.

There was a moment of shocked silence, and then the world exploded into action.  Ace was shouting something as flung a tracery of flame at a nearby vamp, setting it alight, while Caleb hurled two others away from him into the shrubbery with his powers. 

I reached back, placing my hand onto the trunk of a tree, and falling into the tree’s consciousness.  Wearily, I lifted up one of my many roots, intent on obliterating the irritating ants who were so focused on harming my friend. 

With a hissing noise, the chosen root shot up from the ground, writhing through the air, before wrapping around a pale vampire.  I felt satisfied as I heard its shrill cries shaking the air.  Deciding to end this, I squeezed, hard, and something gave before my implacable strength.  The ant popped, its red sap spattering everything around it.  I dropped its mangled corpse, satisfied. 

Shaken, I returned to my own body in time to see Lilah stumbling away from the pulped body of her attacker, covered in blood.  The tree’s root slithered back into the ground like a giant snake.  I glanced around; the fight was going our way.  As befitted his element, Ace was causing the most destruction. 

Even as I watched, he grabbed a vampire’s skull between his hands and its head burst into flames.  Chuckling, he released it; it stumbled away, screaming, before it collapsed just moments later, falling mercifully silent. It was then that someone grabbed from behind, holding my mouth shut with a sweaty hand. 

“Don’t make a noise, girl, or I’ll gut you.” Marcus’s voice was rough with pain and thick with anger, nothing like the amiable, suave tones he’d presented just minutes ago.  I mmphed in acknowledgement, my eyes wide with fear. 

If only I could get close to a tree, I could just…

”And don’t even think about laying a hand on a plant,” Marcus growled, as though he’d sensed my intentions.  “I saw what your little powers did to Connor – and trust me, he’s not going to be happy when he eventually recovers.” I let out a little snort of surprise at this, and then inhaled sharply as he dragged me backwards.  “Oh, didn’t you know?” Marcus’s voice was thick with smug satisfaction.  “Vampires can only die if you stab them through the heart, cut off their head or burn them.  Turning them into a pretzel’s going to put a dint in their day, sure, but it won’t kill them.”  I scowled. 

So that was why the vampire hadn’t turned to dust when the tree had twisted it up. 

“But returning to our conversation, before Caleb so rudely interrupted…why don’t you come and join us, Zeya?” I mmphed stubbornly.  “No?  Don’t fancy our line of work?”

“Let go of her, Marcus.” Ace’s voice was quiet.  I felt Marcus jump with surprise; his knife dug into my spine sharply.

“Get back!  Unless you want her to die!”   Suddenly, Marcus was ripped from me by a blast of air.  I spun around, gasping. 

Caleb. 

He slowly lowered his hand, smirking as he realised that Marcus had landed in a stand of stinging nettles.  “Jesus!  Ah, God!”  Marcus’s high-pitched curses died away as he realised all four us had dealt with his vampires and were now intent on dealing with him.  Lilah moved to stand beside Ace, still soaked in the vampire’s blood.

“Justice time, motherfucker.”  Ace gave a wintery smile as he smacked his fist into his palm.  Marcus froze, his pain forgotten. 

“Now wait just a minute…” He scrambled to his feet as he spoke, and then hurled his knife at Ace.  Caleb flung his hand out and managed to deflect it, but by that time Marcus was off and running. 

We let him go.                                              

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 I stood in front of our camp-fire, my arms folded, frowning. 

“I think I deserve an explanation.” 

“Do you?”  Ace raised an eyebrow.  “That’s cute.”  Lilah elbowed him. 

“Shut it, smart-ass.”  I just stood there.  Finally, Caleb gave a big sigh. 

“Fine, fine.  That guy you just met – the evil genius Marcus.  Minus the genius.  The blonde bitch,” here he smirked at Ace. “Is Isabella.  The rest of the vamps – cannon fodder.  Got it?”  I gave him my best withering glare. 

“No, seriously, what’s going on?  I mean, I get stalked by Caleb here, attacked by vampires, get my goddamn house burnt down, and then we get attacked again!  Plus we all have elemental powers.”

“We-ell,” Ace began slowly.  “Marcus is in charge of a mystery cult called the Shadow Corps –stupid name, in my opinion.  So he’s basically tried to get all of us to work for him, and when we refused, he tried to kill us.”  

“But with you, it was different,” Caleb broke in.  “He kept trying to get you.” 

“Maybe he’s indeed of a little teenage…entertainment,” Ace laughed.  “After all, I bet he gets tired of fucking Isabella all the time.”  Lilah smacked him.

“That’s disgusting, Ace.”

“Not really…I mean, look at her!”  He surveyed my body appreciatively.  I blushed and sat down.

“For Christ’s sake, Ace, stop being such a douchebag!  She’s been with us for about a day and you’re already hitting on her?  And besides, I meant Marcus banging Isabella was disgusting,”  Lilah added as an afterthought.

“I’m not the only one,” Ace said, shooting a sly smile in Caleb’s direction.  I blushed some more at that, mostly because I kept remembering my dream.  So did Caleb, oddly enough. 

“Anyways…” Lilah steered the conversation away from dangerous waters with an exasperated smile.  “Anyone have an idea about where we’re staying next?”

“Here?”  Caleb asked.

“Food?  Shelter?  Clothes?”  I questioned, rolling my eyes at the thoughtlessness of boys.

“Uh…” Ace opened and closed his mouth.  “Actually, that was all at the old camp.  And we can’t go back there.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Lilah said. 

“We can go to my house, I mean it it's still in one piece” I ventured tentatively.  “I don’t think they’d expect that, would they?”  They all glanced at each other, and Caleb slowly nodded. 

“Sounds like a plan.”