A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) (6 page)

Claire forced a
smile, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“See that you
don’t.” Gladys pointed to a blanket hanging across the back of the sofa, “Now
take off your shoes and get comfortable. You know how you lounge when you watch
television? Do that now.”

Claire thought being
ordered to relax was beyond strange. Still, she was glad she was in this house
and not in the motel trying to ignore Jade.  Boy, would Jade feel bad when
Claire didn’t come home tonight.  Gladys handed her a pillow.  The pillowcase
smelled like fabric softener and hid a little of the room’s odors.  She pulled
the blanket down.  The sofa was comfortable.  Claire thought she could easily
go to sleep, even with three ladies watching.

“Ah, better?”
Gladys asked.  Claire noted a predatory gleam in her expression and was
reminded of a cat about to pounce on a bird.  She had to shake herself and
remember that she was a guest, and that so far everyone had been beyond nice.

Claire said, “It’s
nice. Thanks.”

“Not to worry.
Just lay back and close your eyes. Don’t worry about anything. You’re safe with
us.”

Claire did as she
was told and closed her eyes.  As she lay there, she had the strangest feeling
that someone was tugging on her mind.  It was the only way to explain it.  It
was different from her interaction with Water.  Water gave and took equally. 
This was a taking. Claire thought the ladies must be testing her, so she pulled
back, reeling the energy back in.

At first there was
resistance and then she received energy in a flood.  Claire wasn’t sure exactly
what to do with all that energy, so she just gave it to Water, siphoning it
into the moisture in the air.  Water danced in the skies, drawing droplets into
clouds, settling dew drops on the trees.  It was almost too much energy for
Claire to manage.

Someone screamed.

Claire opened her
eyes. Gladys was no longer a middle-aged woman.  Her hair had gone white and
her skin was wrinkled. She screamed, pointing her finger at Claire, “Tasha! Get
her out. Get her out of here.”

“What’s wrong?
What did I do?” Claire pushed the blanket out of the way as the door burst
open.  Tasha and two of the hefty guys came in.

“Put her in the
shed. Let them take her blood.”  Gladys screamed angrily, spittle dripping from
her lips.

Claire squirmed
out of the first man’s grip and kicked the second one, “Don’t take my blood. 
You’re supposed to be my friends.”

She ran for the
door, tripping on the out-stretched leg of the woman who hadn’t yet spoken. 
Claire stared in horror when the woman started cackling and Claire could see that
her teeth were long, sharp points.

In shock, Claire
said, “Vampires.  You’re vampires.”

“Give the girl a
cookie,” Gladys said, “Bind this one with the special cuffs.  She’s got the
power of the Universe, this one does.”

Claire fought the
whole way to the shed. She had a black eye and a bruised lip that throbbed. 
But she had broken one of the vampire’s noses with a well-landed kick, so she
felt at least some satisfaction in that. 

The shed was scary
in a horror movie kind of way. It was dark and sinister, as if something unseen
lurked in the shadows. The place smelled like the toilet.  At least three
others, two men and a woman, were kept in the shed and shackled. As they
dragged Claire to her own shackles, she smelled blood.

Claire called out
to Water, “Help me.  Find Raven.  Please. Help me.”

The bands were
heavy and made of iron, small enough to lock around her wrists.  Claire
couldn’t hear Water’s reply.  She swallowed away her fear and focused on
anger.  Raven had given her that piece of advice when they were watching a
scary show about a serial killer, a show that Mom would have never allowed had
she been home.
Claire, if you ever get into that kind of situation, there
are no rules.  You become the predator, do you hear me? You’ve got the Universe’s
gifts. Use them and don’t hesitate.

 Claire couldn’t
touch water. The vampires had done something to block her. But there had to be
something she
could
do. Claire hated the feel of the slimy wall against
her back, the cold of the wood soaking through her t-shirt and onto her skin.

She closed her
eyes and focused on the metal clasped around her wrists. Metal was Earth’s
child, also born of fire. Claire had little to do with either, not that she
hadn’t said hello to Earth now and again or to Fire.  Now she called to Earth,
asking for help with the shackles.

Earth answered,
but Claire couldn’t understand.  Earth’s rhythm was so much different than
Water. Claire called again.

She smelled the
beast before she saw it.  Some humans are base animals, with no more conscience
than an alligator or a tiger. This creature was such. It didn’t have the
cleanliness or the manner of the vampires in the Victorian house. It stunk of
old blood and cobwebs.

The beast snorted,
sniffing the air.  Claire froze. It was so hard not to move. From across the
room, another of the vampires snorted and then struck.  Claire heard the
gurgling scream of a woman chained to the wall, and then she was silent. 

Claire prayed that
Water would hurry, and that Raven would care enough to come for her.

Chapter 6

~~ Raven ~~

Raven and Jade
watched a rerun of Friends without speaking.  A few hours had passed since
Claire’s stormy exit. Raven wanted to broach the topic, but didn’t want her
head snapped off.  She said, “Claire’s been gone a while.  I know you’re angry,
but I’m worried about her.”

With an audible
sigh, Jade turned off the television, “I’m sorry.  I can’t say I over-reacted,
but I didn’t mean to be cruel.”

“She probably went
to the ocean.  Maybe we can leave a note and go looking for her?” Raven asked
hopefully. She pulled a pony-tail holder out of her pocket and swept her black
hair behind her head. 

“Let me call Mom,”
Jade said.

“Um…are you sure
about that? Claire’s probably at the ocean. We’ll find her and Mom will be none
the wiser,” Raven knew Jade.  There was no way Jade would go behind Mom’s back.

She was right. 
Jade said, “It will just take a second.” 

Jade dialed. She
whispered, “Voicemail.” Then left a message, “Hey, Mom. We’re going to the
ocean. I need to see something.”

After she
disconnected, Raven gave Jade a friendly slap on the shoulder, “Not bad, Sis. 
Soon you’ll be sneaking out with me at night and cutting class.”

Jade laughed,
“Don’t count on it.  Two more years.  Maybe I can get a scholarship to the UW.” 
Jade wanted to go to the University of Washington in Seattle. College fees were
soaring, so during the school year Jade spent time studying when she wasn’t in
sports.  Wildwood Springs was a B school, so Jade played volleyball,
basketball, and track. Between sports, studying, and school, there wasn’t a lot
of time left over for sneaking out.

Something in the aftermath
of the accident and Jade and Claire’s fight loosened Jade and Raven’s
relationship. They spoke of their worry about Mom, Claire and Mindy, of the
strain of keeping up a pretense with everyone they knew. They talked all the
way to the beach. For Jade it was cathartic.  She missed Raven, even though
they shared a room.  At one time, the sisters were close, but in the past
couple of years, somehow they each went their separate ways.

When they got to
the beach, Jade and Raven found absolutely nothing.  It was late at night and
the waves rolled onto the beach heedless of their search. Jade looked out over
the water. “Do you really think she’s out in that?”

Raven shrugged.
Knowing Claire, yes.  She said, “Let’s walk down the beach a while. She might
make us wait a bit.”

It was a magical
night.  Despite the heavy burdens Jade carried, she felt lighter now that she
was under the stars, and the lovely moon listening to the ocean’s low rumble. It
eased some of her anxiety. They walked in silence. 

Raven spoke to
Air, showing a mental image of her sister playing in the water. A gust of wind
skittered in a tight circle around Raven, reflecting back an image of Claire
with a group of kids. Air’s image was disjointed and swept quickly from object
to object. It would make a person dizzy if they tried to follow Air’s vision for
too long, but Raven knew for sure that it was Claire that she was seeing.

Raven grunted in
disgust, “Stupid kid.”

“What is it?” Jade
asked.

“Claire got into
one of those sliding door vans with a bunch of strangers.” Raven pointed in the
direction of Air’s revelation. “It happened about a quarter mile down the
beach. At least they were our age, and there were lots of them.”

“That doesn’t make
me feel better,” Jade said.

Raven kicked a
piece of driftwood that was in her path, “Me neither.”

“Could you find
her using your gifts?” Jade had never spoken to Raven or Claire about their
gifts.  She was so hurt that her own hadn’t made an appearance that she avoided
the topic.  Sometimes she caught a passing word or glimpse from one of the
elements, but never enough for her to say, “Yes, I belong to the Gray family. I
am an Elemental.”

Raven shrugged,
“Maybe? Air isn’t great on past or future events.  I’d be better off if I had a
general idea of where she was and then looked for her there. Air doesn’t know
where the van went.”

“I know you and
Claire have been practicing. What kind of power do you have?” Jade tried not to
sound jealous when she asked the question.  She pushed a strand of
reddish-brown hair out of her face.  The wind teased it back.

Raven laughed.
“You know Air likes you.”

Tucking the strand
behind her ear, Jade said, “She has a funny way of showing it.”

In the distance a
fog horn bellowed.  Raven answered Jade’s earlier question about her power,
“Air is capricious. She likes to dance. If I ask her to do anything that
involves spirals or swirls, she doesn’t hesitate.” Raven used her hands a lot
when she talked, especially when she was excited.  Growing animated, Raven
said, “I learned something new.  I can see what birds see and even multiple
birds at once.  It’s totally weird.”

Jade asked a few
questions about Raven’s bird vision. She stared out across the water.  “How
many birds at a time?”

 “I have no idea. 
I’ve only done it a few times.” Raven walked closer to the water’s edge.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, she yelled, “Claire!”

The wind picked up
her voice and sent it over the water.  Jade and Raven listened, but no one
answered back.

“If she climbed
into a van, she’s probably not out in the water,” Jade tried to be apologetic
when she said it.  If Claire left the beach, she couldn’t logically also be
there.

Raven said, “I
thought maybe she took a spin around town and came back. I don’t know what to
do now.”

Jade was starting
to get tired.  It had been a stressful day that had definitely taken its toll.
“Let’s find a seat on one of these logs, and you commune with the birds.  If
you don’t get anything we’ll head back to the motel. It would be our luck
Claire’s already there and fast asleep.”

Giggling Raven
said, “No, she won’t be.  She doesn’t have a key.”

Jade couldn’t help
but join in the laughter.  It was one part laughter and three parts hysteria,
but it felt good. The girls quieted and Raven got down to work.

The gulls spun and
soared above the ocean, over parking lots and buildings.  Raven started with
them. In her mind’s eye she made an image of Claire and the van. She
painstakingly watched from bird to bird, from image to image slowly moving away
from the ocean and further inland.

The birds could
only show her what they could see at the moment.  Her power was worse than
useless at finding Claire.

~~ Mindy ~~

Mindy felt fine.
Her coughing had stopped. She just wanted to go home.  When they wheeled her
back to the room, she waited.  Earth had kept her entertained while she was
being tested.  They said they were testing her, but these tests didn’t ask for
answers.  She just had to be still.

They tilted the
bed back up for her and asked if she wanted a book.  Mindy said yes, even
though she didn’t know how to read.  Claire called her a dummy once because of
it. She said that kids two years younger than Mindy could read.  That time,
Mindy cried. Jade said it was okay, that Einstein didn’t even talk until he was
four and look how smart he turned out to be.

As she flipped the
pages, she felt Earth poke her.  Climbing down out of the bed, Mindy jumped
into Earth’s embrace, the same way she did when Water had sent a flood after
her.

Not Claire’s
fault.

Earth agreed. Water
liked to tease.

Someone was
coming.  Someone dangerous.  Earth told Mindy she needed to hide. They hid in
the rocks together until the two scary men left Mindy’s room. They were bad.
Earth didn’t like their feet upon her. They didn’t belong.

There was more. 
Claire was also in trouble. Earth showed Mindy Claire locked away in a strange
place far from the Water she loved. When the men were gone, Earth released
Mindy and she climbed back in bed. Mindy tried to remember,
Claire. Danger
.

When Mom’s phone
rang, Mindy got out of bed again to answer.  “Hello?”

It was Jade.

“Hey, Cricket, why
are you answering Mom’s phone?”

“Stranger.” Mindy
vaguely remembered the shadows in her room. Somehow she had to cling to the memory
so that Jade would know, so that she could stay safe.  Jade didn’t have Earth,
not like Mindy.

“Is there someone
in the room with you?” Jade sounded alarmed. 

Mindy looked
around the room. “No.”

There was
something else.  Earth said,
Remember.

Something
important.

Jade said, “Okay,
Sweetie, get some sleep and tell Mom I called.”

Mindy blurted out,
“No. Think.”

That was the
family code word.  Sometimes Mindy needed time to get out what she was trying
to say.  It was frustrating when everyone talked so quickly around her and
never gave her time to speak.  Jade was the first person to realize that
sometimes Mindy just needed a few more minutes.  Jade told her if she ever
needed more time to say “Think” and Jade would know she was thinking.

Jade said, “It’s
okay, Cricket. Take your time.”

Mindy felt
relieved.  Time. Time. Time.  She needed Time. The earth moved in a circle.  It
spun in a circle.  Everything was a circle.  What was she supposed to
remember?  Earth. Sister. Oh…Claire.

Mindy said,
“Earth. Claire. Danger.”

“Earth?  Mindy,
can you hear Earth?” Oops.  Mindy forgot.  She wasn’t supposed to tell.

It’s okay. Just
tell her about me.

“Yes,” Mindy said,
and then repeated, “Earth. Claire. Danger.”

Jade’s voice went
so loud on the phone that Mindy cringed and pushed the phone away with a frown,
“Mindy, do you know where Claire is?  She’s missing.  Mindy?”

“Hmmmmm…” Mindy
thought and thought. Claire. She didn’t have the right words to tell Jade how
to get there.  She said, “Earth knows.”

“Thank Min-Min.
Are you feeling better?” Jade asked.

“Yes.” Mindy said.

“Tell Mom I
called, okay?”

“’kay.” Mindy hit
the button that Jade had taught her to hit when she was done talking.  Then she
turned a page in the book.  There were polar bears inside and everything was
light blue and pink and white, cold Earth.  Very pretty.

Mindy watched the
bears for a while. Then she went to sleep. The nurse who smiled a lot came to
visit again.  Then Jade and Raven woke her up. 

Jade put a finger
over her mouth.  She said, “Shhh…we’re playing hide and seek.”

Mindy lit up.  She
loved hide and seek. No one ever found her. Ever. Earth hid her too well.  “I
hide.”

Raven whispered,
“Mindy, we’re going to smuggle you outside, you need to be very quiet. No noise
at all. Can you do that?”

Mindy pouted and
shook her head, arms crossed.

Jade put her arms
around Mindy, “It’s okay, Cricket. We’re hiding from the doctors.  We have to
find Claire, and you’re the only one who can talk to Earth.  Where’s Mom?”

Mindy shrugged.

At that moment,
the nice nurse walked in, “Oh, excuse me. I didn’t see you two come in.  You
must be Mindy’s sisters?”

Before Jade could
give the nurse her name, phone number, social security number, address,
Facebook account, and firstborn, Raven answered, “We’re looking for our Mom.
She should have been here with Mindy, but she’s not answering her phone.”

The nurse wrinkled
her nose, “I haven’t seen your Mom for hours.”

“Can you have her
paged?” Jade was starting to feel desperate. As soon as Mindy said, “Claire.
Danger,” Jade had a sinking feeling.  She already felt guilty for Claire
running away. If anything happened to Claire, Jade wouldn’t forgive herself.

“Of course,” the
nurse said, bustling out of the room.

Amy Gray,
please check into the nurses’ station at the Emergency Room. Amy Gray.

Earth nudged
Mindy. Claire. Time. Stranger. Mom.

Things were
jumbling and tumbling in Mindy’s mind.  Earth tried to tell her the story, but
Mindy only retained pieces. 

Aloud Mindy said,
“Stranger. Mom.”

Raven gasped,
“What Mindy?  What did you say?”

“Stranger. Mom.” Mindy
repeated and started to cry.  She didn’t know why she was sad or scared, only
that the things Earth showed her were sad and scary.  She didn’t want to
remember. She didn’t want to hold onto Earth’s thoughts, but she had to, for
her sisters, for Mom, she had to remember.

Jade held out her
arms and Mindy sought shelter in them, the way she always had when Earth told
too much truth. Mindy felt the time passing. Too quickly.  Too quickly. Claire.
Danger.  Death.