Scorched_Earth_B_N Read online

  Scorched Earth

  by

  Autumn Dawn

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Autumn Dawn

  EDITED BY:

  Judy Stone

  stonewrightediting.blogspot.com

  Scorched Earth

  Copyright © 2014 by Autumn Dawn

  www.autumndawnbooks.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  ***

  Special thanks to Beta reader Mary for helping me to produce a clean copy, and to my blog readers, who keep me motivated. Writers are nothing without readers.

  ***

  Scorched Earth

  One will find a love that shakes the earth itself.

  Cara’s compassion freed three dangerous elementals from a hellish prison. Released from centuries of incarceration, these powerful beings have the potential to leave a scorched earth. Can Cara give the earth elemental a reason to care, or will the power the Fates unleashed in her be her downfall?

  Chapter 1

  He was used to the weightlessness by now, but even 800 years couldn’t dull his body’s scream for the touch of earth. Trapped in a cave but cocooned in a cell of air, he could never touch the stone that remained tantalizingly out of reach. He was hungry, starved, and he was not alone. Two others shared his hell, though their cells reflected their nature.

  Fire sat on a bare patch of floating earth surrounded by a sphere of water. Black as night and skeletal, he stared unseeing at the water.

  Water’s cell was bone dry. Severely dehydrated, he looked like a sad old man and rarely spoke, unwilling to force the words past his parched throat. Once blue as the ocean, he’d faded to a sickly gray.

  They’d tried everything they could think of to break free. Over the centuries hope had dwindled, leaving them empty, despairing. If they could have ended it, they’d have welcomed death.

  The earthquake was the first harbinger of change. Earth’s eyes snapped open as he sensed the earth shake. Though he couldn’t physically touch the ground, it gave him a brief burst of hope. Maybe…

  As days went by, hope became depression…until, abruptly, he sensed the woman.

  Cara wiggled through the crack in the earth, calling herself a fool. Something tugged at her, music barely felt, a longing unfulfilled. Using her pen light, she navigated the fissure, turning sideways once to ease through. She’d planned a simple walk this morning to contemplate her twenty-second birthday and exploring a cave wasn’t on the agenda.

  She knew there was a cave at the end of the tunnel, and it bothered her that she was so certain. She was equally certain the quake that formed this crack had left it stable, but couldn’t have said how any more than she could ignore the urge to explore it.

  The day had been so ordinary. Her parents had gone to Mexico to visit family, leaving her to watch the house. They’d celebrated her birthday early, so she had no big plans for the day. She’d made coffee, read the news online and checked the mailbox. The plain brown package intrigued her. Filled with popcorn packing and jewelry, it lacked a return address. The earrings were gold with a green stone that twinkled when she admired them in mirror. Delighted, she’d slipped the matching gold cuff on her left wrist and admired the way the “emeralds” sparkled in the early morning sun, but when she tried to remove the cuff it wouldn’t budge. It seemed welded to her wrist, and the clasp she’d sworn was there had melted away.

  She’d assumed the gifts were from her parents, but now she suspected someone had pranked her. She wondered which of her friends was behind it, and whom she’d have to skin.

  Cara grimaced as she shimmied past a skinny place, strangely unconcerned about what would normally be a claustrophobic press of earth. She wondered what would happen if she tried to remove the earrings. She’d been so distracted by the cuff she hadn’t tried.

  The tunnel ahead brightened, and it had nothing to do with her penlight. She clicked it off, thinking she was approaching daylight…and stepped into a dream.

  The cave was lit, but not by the sun. A glow illuminated three pitiful looking men in the oddest “cells” she could imagine. At least, she sensed they were cells, though only one resembled one in the traditional sense. She glanced at the withered black man encased in a bubble of water, noting his intent stare, but it was the one floating before her that stole her attention. Pale and chalky, he appeared cracked like a weathered statue, a ragged cloth wrapped around his hips. His hair was white and sparse, but his eyes were very alive. Bronze with copper chasing, they focused on her with a single-minded intensity.

  “What are you?” she whispered. Her instincts would normally caution her about releasing him, would make her question why he was locked up, but today everything in her cried out with the need to help. She looked around, but there was no obvious way to free him. She looked at the huddled figure in the cell to her left and winced at his obvious dehydration. That was something she could do. Taking her water bottle from her pack, she loosened the top and reached past the bars to set it on the floor.

  The man stared at her and slowly unfolded his limbs. Moving painfully, he crawled like an arthritic old man across the stone floor, and it was all she could do not to try to move the water closer. Apparently she still had some shred of self-preservation, for she kept a respectable distance.

  He reached the bottle and feebly undid the cap, inhaling like a junkie snuffing his latest hit. Astonishingly, the water rose from the bottle as if he were inhaling it, flowing into his mouth in a steady stream. He shuddered and bowed his head with a dry sob, clutching the empty bottle.

  Cara swallowed her astonishment and looked around with wide eyes. She flushed as she met the intense stare of the chalky prisoner, glancing quickly to the water surrounding the withered black man. Moving to him, she cautiously undid her belt and flicked it at the water sphere, braced to let it go quickly if it tried to suck her in. Instead, the belt flicked the water and came away wet, dribbling water on the floor.

  “Okay.” She slicked the water off her belt, put it back on and returned to the shriveled gray man. Did his color look a little better? That was assuming blue was his natural color, of course. “If you give me back the bottle, I can get you more water.”

  He quickly pushed it through the bars.

  Cara began to trek from the water to his cell, water dripping down her arm and forming a trail between cells. As soon as she got close, the withered man sucked the water to him. He was looking better all the time, and she glanced between the other two, wondering what she could do for them.

  “Throw him a rock,” the blue man suggested, following her gaze to Chalky.

  She started at his rough croak, but after a moment’s hesitation, set down the bottle and searched the cave until she found some loose stones. Lugging them to the floating man, she set them down and considered while he watched her with heart pounding intensity. Taking a breath, she lobbed the rock underhand, arching to his left.

  He grabbed it like a lightning strike and held it to his chest, protecting it like a precious child. A green
glow surrounded his hands, and when his hands fell away, the rock was gone.

  Cara blinked, astonished, but quickly tossed him the rest. One by one, they were absorbed, and he started to look better, less corroded. Pleased, she turned to fetch more, only to stop dead. A trickle of water flowed from the water sphere along the trail of drips, slowly building as it went to the blue man. A glance showed the sphere seemed to be thinning around the black man.

  The hair on her neck prickled in warning. She may have felt the need to help these guys, but she didn’t know them, didn’t even know what they were or why they were here. Not only were there three of them, but they had abilities she didn’t. It was time to leave, because they seemed to have things under control.

  Acting as if she was going for more rocks, she calmly stepped over the small stream and headed to the far wall. She passed the rock pile and kept walking, hurrying through the tunnel. The urge to leave now was as strong as the one that brought her here. She suspected those men had been locked up for some time, and she didn’t want to be standing there when they escaped.

  She reached the sunlight and jogged down the winding path, eager to put distance between them. She wasn’t much of a jogger, but she was healthy and managed a mile before slowing to a fast walk. Feeling safer, she hurried along, wondering who those men were and why she’d felt compelled to help them. Not that she was cruel by nature, but the whole day had been bizarre. The jewelry, the cave, the man eating rocks…it was difficult to process.

  She hit a soft spot on the trail and her foot sank to the ankle. Startled, she lurched, nearly going to her knees. “What the…? There’s no mud out here.” It hadn’t rained in weeks, and the rest of the path was hard packed dirt.

  “Hello, dear.” Three women circled Cara’s expanding mud hole. Bewildered, she struggled, her feet sinking a little more as the mud sucked at her shoes. “Hey, could you help me? I’m stuck.” She stuck out a hand in expectation.

  It was ignored.

  “We are helping,” a tall Polynesian woman said. Dressed in a short-sleeved red blouse, jean shorts and hiking boots, she seemed right at home. “I’m Destiny, by the way.”

  “Providence,” the statuesque black woman introduced herself. She sized Cara up as if considering her for an important position. She wore a knee-length white skirt with tiny pleats and golden sandals that laced up her calves; definitely not hiking apparel. Her top was an artfully tied white scarf that left one shoulder bare, and heavy linked gold disks circled her neck and wrists. A gold cord bound her hair, holding it back from her strong face. “We are the judges. Well done on setting the prisoners free.”

  “Yes, well done. You may call me Fortune,” a pretty Spanish lady said, brushing her long, wavy red hair over her shoulder. “I see you’re wearing your wedding jewelry. Excellent. We can begin now.” She took a pouch out of her peasant blouse and a bottle from the pocket of her long green skirt. She grabbed a handful of herbs from the pouch and sprinkled it over the mud. “Blessings of sage for wisdom, rosemary for strength, wisdom and fidelity…”

  “Is that for her or him?” Destiny quipped. “Because ‘playboy meets former human’ sounds more like the plot of a naughty joke than a love story.”

  “Tony Stark was a playboy, but Penny turned him around,” Providence argued, referencing the Iron Man movie.

  “Do you mind?” Fortune growled. She cleared her throat. “And orange thyme, for refreshing courage. Destiny, you have the oil?”

  “Of course. Destiny took a water pistol out of her pocket and squirted oil at Cara’s head.

  “What are you doing?” Cara cried as she sank to her knees. Struggling made her sink faster, but holding still didn’t help, plus she had oil that reeked of ginger and spruce dripping through her hair, stinging her eyes.

  “Good question.” Providence sent a quizzical look at Destiny.

  Destiny shrugged. “She’s anointed, isn’t she?” She glanced up the trail. “It would be best to finish soon. They’re almost free.”

  “They have to feed. Right now they’re too weak to fight us.” Providence focused on Cara. “Be strong, Cara. He will be difficult at first, but he won’t be able to ignore his wedding tokens. He will be yours. Soon you will sleep, and wake to good fortune.”

  “You’re crazy!” Cara shouted as the mud sank to her chest. She couldn’t believe they were just standing around, watching her sink. “Help me!”

  “You will be all right,” Providence promised. “Providence is with you.”

  “Destiny awaits,” Destiny said crisply, raising a sparkling copper vial. She let the contents fall in a trail of copper tears. Where it fell, it blazed, causing the mud to burst into light.

  Cara slipped beneath the mud, her body on fire. Mud clogged her eyes and ears, making her heartbeat boom like a drum. She tried to hold her breath, but the pain was too much.

  She screamed, gagging as charged mud slid down her throat and filled her lungs. It felt like swallowing lightning, and it filled every air sac, clogging her bronchials like fiery mucus. She clawed at her chest, desperate for air, but it was useless. The pain spread, dirty mud pushing into her veins in a hot, agonizing wave. She thrashed as her body fell apart, ripped cell by cell.

  Wrapped in pain, she gratefully gave into the darkness.

  She awoke floating on the thickening mud, coated in it. Cara dragged herself weakly to the firm earth, grateful to be alone. She was naked, slicked with mud, shaking with shock. Why wasn’t she dead?

  She pressed her face to the earth, seeking comfort. Gritty dirt stuck to the mud, adding to her misery. It was almost sunset and the temperature would soon plummet. She had to get home.

  A footfall scuffed the dirt, and she looked up, afraid, but hoping for help. She saw shoes and a pair of jean-clad knees.

  “Well, look at this. We found one,” a man with an odd accent said with satisfaction. “I’ll take care of it.” Moving fast, he looped a cord around her neck and pulled, choking off her cry.

  She was going to die…again. Was the plan to kill her over and over? She couldn’t get the cord off. She was blacking out when there was a sudden jerk, and the pressure eased. She ripped the cord away, wheezing as two men fought next to her, their feet stomping perilously close. She struggled to crawl away, her body protesting bitterly.

  That’s when the third man kicked her in the ribs, flipping her on her back. She cried out and tried to curl into a ball, but he planted a boot on her belly and plunged a dagger toward her heart.

  A shadow fell over him and he shrieked as he flew back. He sailed through the air, and his assailant grabbed his shirt and pinned him to the rock. The man jerked and was still. Blood bubbled out his mouth as her savior let him go. The body remained pinned to the rock, stone spikes protruding through his body.

  The victor looked at her. It was the chalk man, but a slightly improved version. This close, he was huge, nearly seven feet. While his skin was less crumbly, it still looked weathered, patchy and gray, like a gargoyle who’d seen a century or two, and his molting hair only aged him further. Eyes like copper-chased bronze studied her, still bright with battle.

  He was terrifying. Cara cringed and tried to look smaller. She wavered between wanting to cover herself and crawl away. She could see the first attacker’s body discarded on the ground, his head twisted at an unnatural angle.

  The rock eater knelt beside her and she shrank back. She didn’t want those huge hands on her.

  “I want to see where he kicked you. I’ll try not to hurt you,” he said, his voice deep and dark as a cavern. Brushing aside her hands, he gently probed her ribs as she hissed. He grunted and closed his eyes, and a green glow flowed into her belly, easing the pain. Astonished, she flinched when he did the same for her throat. It wasn’t completely healed, but she could talk now. “How did you do that?” she rasped.

  He sat back on his heels and closed his eyes, either weary or pained. After a moment, he drew a breath and glanced at her as if taking stock. Moving stiff
ly, he stripped the shirt from the man with the broken neck and gave it to her. “I can’t make you clothes. His pants are soiled.”

  She saw that urine had stained the man’s crotch and nodded, quickly buttoning the short-sleeved shirt. She was tall for a woman at 5’10”, but the shirt covered the essentials, thank God. “Thanks.” She looked around. “Um, I need to get home.” The mud on her body was drying, itching madly as it flaked off. She desperately needed a shower and food; she was starving.

  He nodded. “Lead the way. We want to leave before anyone else finds us.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “Ah, I don’t feel comfortable bringing strangers home.”

  He snorted. “I saved your life. Is that nothing to you?”

  “Technically, I saved you first. We’re even.”

  He didn’t look impressed. “How do you think I found you? That jewelry is linked to me, and it’s a good thing or you’d be dead. I could simply follow, but I don’t want to bother with subterfuge. We both need rest; I won’t be able to fight off another attack. Can you?”

  He had a point, and it wasn’t like she could stop him from following. Momentarily defeated, she started walking. “Who are you? Where are your friends?”

  “I am Earth, but you may call me Tremor. Water took Raze to find fire. He was too weak to draw lava to the cave.”

  She wasn’t sure what he meant, but she focused on the most pressing question. She could find out more when she wasn’t half naked and covered in mud. “What are they?”

  “Water and Fire elementals.”

  He wasn’t much for long conversation, was he? “Do you know the women who tried to drown me?” When he looked at her sharply, she summarized her attempted murder.

  He sucked in a breath. “The Fates. You say they were happy about our release? They must have sent you.” His gaze lingered on her bracelet and earrings.