A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) (7 page)

Chapter 7

~~ Claire ~~

Claire heard the
slurping sounds of the vampires eating their victim.  It was the only way to
describe the slaughter.  The air was heavy with the smell of iron and copper,
the smell of darkness, the smell of death.  Claire closed her eyes.  These
vampires weren’t intelligent.  If one attacked, they all attacked, fighting
over the same person until that person was utterly consumed.

At least the
screaming had stopped.

Claire would have
given anything just to stick her fingers in her ears, to be deaf for those
terrible long minutes.  Now the vampires were sated and they moved away,
grunting and grumbling without words the way an animal would. Claire needed to
find a way out of her bonds.  There had to be something.  There had to be.

She reached out to
Earth. Earth could hear her. The cuffs blocked her direct contact with Earth. 
Water was so far out of range that Claire couldn’t even talk to her.  Maybe
Earth couldn’t give her power to change or power to move, but maybe it could do
something else.

Claire sent her
thoughts to the presence that waited in the stone, in the rock.  Claire was
sorry now that she hadn’t paid more attention to the gentle rumblings in the
stone.  Earth had always moved so slow, so quietly.  Earth was boring.  Claire
wouldn’t tell that to the presence saving her now, but it was the truth. She
never gave Earth more than a passing hello because it just couldn’t keep up the
way Water did.

Earth understood.

It passed back the
information that it had shown Mindy.  If Claire had any thought toward
grumbling, she caught herself in time.  Until that moment, Claire had thought
that she and Raven were the only Gray sisters who had caught the Elemental gene. 
Now she knew that Mindy had it, too. That was a surprise.

Claire waited,
hoping Earth would be able to do what she had in mind. She could feel Mindy
somehow, as if a part of her were with Earth even now.  The vampires moved closer,
one of them sniffing the air with that hooting sound that meant another feeding
frenzy. It moved closer and closer to Claire, so close that she couldn’t see
anything but the dark cloak it wore. It was leaning over her, sniffing and
sniffing, the smell of death overpowering.  She was surprised it could even
smell her over itself.

Claire’s heart
beat faster.  She tried to pull her hand out of the cuff.  She scraped and
pulled, gritting her teeth so that she didn’t make a noise.  The smallest
whimper would set them off.

Earth was slow to
react.  Claire felt the vampire’s teeth clamp down on the tendon that connected
her throat to her shoulder.  The pain was excruciating.  She bit her lip. She
mustn’t scream. Screaming would drive them all crazy, not that they were sane
to begin with. She held her breath.

Tears welled in
her eyes as Claire begged the universe for help. 
Please tell me what to
do.  I can’t touch Water. I’m alone here. 

She heard the
answer as clearly as if the universe had actually spoken, “Of course you can.
You’re made of water.”

Claire gasped. 
Even that slight sound caught the attention of a second vampire who grabbed her
wrist.  Taking a deep breath, Claire focused inwardly.  Water had always been
outside before, something she joined.  The idea that it was also a part of her had
not occurred to her before.

Her arms were
caught together above her head. As the second vampire tore into her upper arm,
Claire focused inwardly, surprised when she found that she could talk to her
element. The communication was different from the inside out than it was from
the outside in, but she discovered an answer.

 She could still
become Water even with the manacles. It would just take a bit of creativity.
The water inside her arms shifted itself to avoid the manacles. The manacles
were designed for witches and wizards, not Elementals.  Claire found that once
she looked from the inside out, she could become Water.

That is exactly
what she did, arms first until she was a puddle on the floor.  The floor was
covered in filth.  Claire could sink in and out of puddles all day, but the
shed had been used for murder.  There was no delicate way to describe the smell
or the human liquids pooled along the floor, all those things that made up a
functioning human body, provided they were inside and not splattered
everywhere. Claire hated the dirtiness she felt even as she rolled along the
floor.

Claire felt the
world as Water, but also carried her human emotions, feeling trapped and
afraid. If she became human again, they would kill her.  They had already
killed one of the women in the room.  The others were silent out of self-preservation.

 Don’t open the
curtains.
  Claire slowly slipped across the floor, bit by bit, inch by
inch.  Raven’s advice was sound.  Claire was not going to be prey to these animals. 
She was going to stop them all and save the people who were trapped here with
her. 

The shed would be
tricky.  It only had one door with no windows or points of light.  Cheated of
their prize, the vampires turned their attention to the man who stood next to
Claire, his arms also caught above his head. 

Time was running
out.  She realized that she couldn’t wait for the sun, not if she wanted to
save this guy’s life. Maneuvering as close to the shed door as she could,
Claire allowed the water to coalesce into human form again. Her arm and neck
throbbed where the vampire had bitten her.  The sudden pain when she became
human again nearly made her cry out. 

Claire pushed on
the door to get out of the shed, thinking she might find something she could use
against the vampires.  The door was locked. She heard the crunch of a first
bite. The man was smart enough not to make a noise, not even a whisper.  Claire
decided she would have to for him.

“Hey, you
animals.  I have some sunlight for you…want it?”  Claire shrieked the words.

Apparently they
did.  Leaving the man alone, they shuffled toward Claire with that strange
grumbling howl. Claire turned to water again.  Having bought the prisoners a
little more time, she slipped between the door and the floor, a liquid that
slowly slid outside.

It took longer
than she would have liked, but Claire was finally outside. The sky had that
tender pre-dawn glow that made the world visible in a dream-like way. Seeing a
dozen other sheds just like the one she escaped, Claire felt shocked.  They
were in the back yard, and Claire could see not only sheds, but a barn. 

Now that she was
outside, Claire could feel Water again, the whole of water.  She didn’t realize
how much she missed the outside contact. Claire rarely wished for another Elemental
gift, but this time, it would have been nice if she connected more easily to
Earth or Fire.  Vampires weren’t afraid of water.  With enough power, water
could be terribly destructive, but they were inland.  Other than a rainstorm, Claire
couldn’t think of a way that Water could help her set free the prisoners.

The worst moment
Claire had in the back yard happened when she was walking between the sheds,
trying to find something that she could use against the creatures inside. 
Across the field in one of the last sheds in the row, Claire heard a terrible
scream.  It was so full of fear and rage that she froze for a moment.

Water, help me.

Claire didn’t know
exactly what she was asking water to do. A few streams of water went spinning in
the air around the shed, but nothing happened. Claire thought of the van and
remembered the shovel. She sprinted along the sheds, across the side yard and
to the front.  Throwing open the vanagon’s door, she grabbed the shovel.

“Hey, what are you
doing?”  Someone stood on the porch. Just her luck.

Claire ignored the
voice and ran for the back.  The screams she had heard from the shed had
stopped.  The only sound was of feeding, the sound of crunching and gulping
like a pack of dogs.  Claire unlocked the door.  Throwing it open, she could
see a five vampires on their hands and knees feeding off of something she
didn’t want to think about. 

It was too late
for the woman in the shed.  Worse, Claire could hear the back door of the big
house open and shut and the quiet murmurings of the group as they came to find
her.  Claire slipped into the shadows behind the shed.  She didn’t want to wear
herself out too early by switching back and forth from human to water.

A voice called
from the yard, “Hey, we won’t hurt you. You don’t have to steal from us. We’ll
see that you’re well-fed and cared for.”

Claire realized
that the vampires didn’t know that she had actually escaped.  They thought she
was a prowler. Thunder rumbled in the sky above and lightening flashed. The
quiet pitter patter of water droplets against the shed helped Claire hide both
her scent and location from the vampires. 

They were
spreading out now, forming a line to find her. Even though she was exhausted,
Claire pushed to make another change to water.  With so many of the vampires
out here trying to find her, she could wreak havoc on the house, pulling down
curtains.  They would have no safe haven in which to return when the sun rose.

Claire’s change to
water went quickly this time.  She let Air maneuver her, catching the breeze in
a thousand pieces until she reformed as human on the steps.  She ran for the
porch, yanking open the door.  The vampires were all outside hunting for her. 
This was her chance to really make a difference.

Dozens of people
lay sleeping on the sofas.  Claire tore the curtains in the room down, certain
that at any minute a vampire would come through and catch her.  Beneath the
curtains, the vampires had added a second layer of aluminum foil.  The room was
still dark.  Claire tore the foil off until she could see window and moved to
the next.

She was in the
parlor behind a sofa with an old woman snoring when the first group of vampires
returned. Claire dropped to her knees and wriggled her way as far back as she
could. Claire heard Tasha’s voice among them.

The vampire from
the porch said, “Someone was out there, I swear,”

“The windows. 
Somebody destroyed our windows,” another one said.

Tasha’s voice rang
out, “I’ve smelled this one before. Check Pen 3. I think our newest arrival
escaped.”

Claire tried to
change back to water.  She was so tired. It was one too many times.  Water
couldn’t hear her.  Dread crawled along Claire’s spine as Tasha’s footsteps
came closer. She had nowhere to run…nowhere to hide.

~~ Raven ~~

Raven and Jade sat
in the hospital room with Mindy. The plan was going well until the sisters
realized that their Mom was missing, too.  Raven couldn’t believe that Jade was
chickening out now.  Even if Mom disappeared, they still had to help Claire,
and Mindy was the key to doing it.

Raven was tired
and grumpy.  She hadn’t slept well the night before either, so she had a
headache from lack of sleep.  They were sitting on chairs around Mindy’s bed
when their Mom walked in, “What are you girls doing here?”

“Where were you?”
Raven asked.

At the same time
Jade said, “Claire ran away.”

“I thought there
was someone watching me.  I didn’t want to lead them to Mindy,” Amy said. 

Raven hoped a
nurse or doctor didn’t overhear, because at least from the outside, Amy Gray
sounded paranoid. She looked exhausted, as if she could use a week of sleep.
Raven said, “Mom, we need to find Claire.”

Jade jumped in,
“Mindy said, ‘Claire. Danger. Death.’ We think she’s in trouble.”

Not to be outdone
Raven said, “But she also said, ‘Mom, Stranger’, so….maybe Claire is okay and
back at the hotel. Anyway, we were going to break Mindy out to help us find
Claire because Earth seemed to be telling her something important.”

Amy rubbed her
temple, “Give me a minute.”

Raven had to count
to twenty to keep herself from interrupting Mom’s moment of solitude. Amy said,
“Here’s what’s going to happen.  I’m driving you girls back to the Motel where
you will sleep a minimum of six hours. Claire might be back at the motel. If
she’s not, you’re going to stay put. I have a few friends in the area.  I’ll
give them a call and we’ll see what we can turn up.”

They all bundled
back into the van and trudged up the stairs to the second floor of the motel. 
Claire was still missing.  Jade crumpled up the note she and Raven had written
and threw it away.

Raven sat on her
bed, “So, are we actually going to do what Mom says?”

Jade yawned, “I
don’t know about you, but I’m tired.  Maybe things will look better with a
little sleep.”

Changing into a
t-shirt, Jade crawled into bed and fell asleep.  Raven thought it wasn’t a bad
idea, except for Mindy’s voice.  Raven thought there had to be something she
could do.

~~ Amy ~~

Amy felt numb. It
was too much.  She knew Claire was learning the gift of Water.  It was obvious
in a dozen different ways.  She tried to be a good mother.  She tried. Maybe
she should have stopped Raven and Claire from practicing when they thought they
were unwatched.  Maybe she should have told them straight out that she knew
what they were up to and approved, but to please be careful. Instead, she
buried her head in the sand and let it happen without help or intervention.

Claire nearly
killed Mindy. It was her fault. She knew how much power an Element gifted a
beloved member of the Gray family. It was clear when she left Claire and Jade
in the motel room that they were unhappy.  She was juggling children, needing
to be with all of them, but they were scattered.  If Lawrence were alive, he
would know what to do.