Exhale (14 page)

He gritted his teeth and steeled himself for the hell awaiting him on the other side. With dreadful acceptance, he twisted the lock, then yanked the door open. He jabbed his head into the hall and looked both ways. To his left, a short, red wisp of smoke shot around the end of the corridor like a fox’s twitching tail.

Fresh out of the hen house.

“Guess I was wrong.” He double locked the door and squared his shoulders before turning around to face his confused-looking date.

Scarlet was just getting warmed up.

Chapter Twelve

Sinnder rolled away from the meal lying next to him, stared at the ceiling, and scrubbed his face. Cold emptiness filled his gut. No matter how much he ate these days, it was never enough.

He sat up and dragged the bed sheets along to cover himself. Running a hand over his abs, he glanced at the sleeping meat and slid his tongue across his upper teeth. Forget about eating a cow. He could have finished off an entire herd.

At first, he blamed the insatiable hunger on Fire withdrawals. The ancient Fyre Elemental he busted out of the necklace he stole from Gavin had been a feast fit for Incendius himself. But that had been days ago. His system should have recalibrated by now. Yet here he was. Doing what Fyres did. Hungrier than ever.

He frowned. No better than a heroin junkie, he lived from score to score. But the end wasn’t far off. Yileen had revealed as much just before Sinnder and Scarlet murdered him.

I know you not here for me
, Yileen had whispered with his Aboriginal accent inside Sinnder’s head.
But you must follow through. Prove yourself here, you win her trust. The real battle farther down this path. There you find what you looking for.

What he was looking for. Sinnder snorted softly. He’d found it, all right. Now he just had to figure out how to handle it.

There was no reason for an Elemental to trust a Sentinel, but Sinnder recognized that a man as powerful and wise as Yileen could see things Elementals did not. And the old man’s promise of what lay ahead was all that kept Sinnder going lately.

Dread was a magnificent motivator.

A content sigh from the other side of the bed reminded him of the need to get moving. He glanced at his watch. Almost two a.m.

The sheet fell as he stood up, exposing his burning, bare skin to the dry, cold air. He shivered as a chill ran from his neck down to his toes. It carried a faint edge of panic with it—that unrelenting fear of his body turning ice cold and not being able to restart his engine. It became worse the hotter he got.

Heart picking up speed, he rerouted a bit of Fire from his groin to his extremities. The crystallizing blood warmed. He relaxed. Much better.

He glanced around the unfamiliar room and squinted at the fifty or so lighted candlesticks illuminating every available surface. His prey had insisted on integrating hot wax into the sex act, claiming it enhanced the experience.

Yawn.

Now he was glad of the candles, but for different reasons.

He was running late.

Sinnder swiped the nearest taper and snatched his clothes off the floor, Fire coursing through his veins like a watered-down caffeine buzz. He needed more.

The sleeping Wyldling on the bed moaned something crude into the pillow, rolled over, and began masturbating. Must have been dreaming about him. Sinnder shook his head. The Fire that made him what he was worked like endorphins on the humans. Once they smelled his rich bouquet, they craved it—got off on it. Repeatedly.

He, on the other hand, hadn’t experienced a happy ending in over a millennium. Well, aside from what the Fire provided. And these days, it was very little in the big scheme.

He paused on the way to the bathroom. God, had it really been
that
long? Days blended into weeks, months, and years… Half the time, he lost track of what century he was in, let alone the specific date. So driven for so long. Yet, the Fire constantly raging within him sometimes obscured the reason for his vengeance.

He couldn’t lose that.

He hadn’t thought about
her
in the physical sense for years—the ruddy cheeks he’d smudged with kisses every night, the intense emerald gaze, the plumpness of her bottom lip…He closed his eyes for a long moment.

No, instead of focusing on her beauty, he let the unbearable pain she left him with drive his train. A true Fyre, he was. There was nothing left of the man he’d been before the Fire took hold and transformed him into this Elemental beast, no motivation to be anything else, so why
not
give the Fire complete control? Without that incessant, burning desire navigating life’s little speed bumps for him, steering him clear of anything that might calm the animal living in his soul, he’d be long-dead by now.

And without that damned Fire, he’d never have found Scarlet.

Sinnder ignored his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he dressed. Archelemental Eidan and the Fyre Council would expect him to be on time for his first meeting as a bishop. His predecessor had met an unfortunate end at Scarlet’s hands, and Sinnder had to keep up the appearance of a sycophantic lap dog for her benefit. Which meant he’d chat up the Archelemental before Scarlet arrived, just to make the bitch squirm. She was so paranoid. And predictable in her unpredictability. He smiled.

More rustling of sheets from the bedroom told him it was time to go. Reddish locks tumbled into his line of sight as he held his hand over the flame from the candle and soaked up its warmth. He wiggled his fingers through it, imagining the sweet taste of Scarlet’s Fire on his lips. He closed his eyes.

Concentrating on the flame’s connection to Incendius, the god who linked every bit of fire on the planet, Sinnder mentally homed in on the hearth in Archelemental Eidan’s council chamber. Once he plotted the course of fire between here and there, he ignited his earthly body with a simple thought and transported his agitated molecules to the Fyres’ meeting room.

Within seconds, his bits slammed back into human form, and Eidan’s fireplace spat him out. The Archelemental turned slowly to him, his attention seemingly buried in the piece of paper in his hand.

Sinnder lowered his head, though it wasn’t out of respect. He had a role to play here, so he’d do what he must to ensure success. He waited to be acknowledged.

A moment later, Eidan laid the paper on the round mahogany table, the very spot where Sinnder’s predecessor had been devoured alive by Scarlet a few weeks ago. The Archelemental ran long, ruddy fingers over its polished surface and smiled cat-like at Sinnder.

“Welcome to the council.” Eidan extended his hand. Sinnder clasped it. Heat stormed between their palms and retreated as they pulled apart.

“Scarlet tells me you’ve been quite busy. I look forward to your report on the whales.” Deep red eyes scrutinized Sinnder from head to toe. Was he sizing up his prey? Or cataloguing his competition?

Oh, if Eidan only knew.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Archelemental. I look forward to serving you and the council.” Sinnder hid a smile by bowing his head.

Eidan nodded and shifted his gaze behind Sinnder.

A crackle of fire from the hearth announced the arrival of another councilor. Even with his back to the blaze, Sinnder knew it was Scarlet. He’d been studying her routines, habits, and quirks for years. He licked his lips and turned around.

“Sinnder.” She hitched hands to her hips and blew a red curl out of her smoldering eyes. “Surprised you made it on time.”

“We were just talking about you,” Sinnder drawled.

As he expected, her nostrils bowed slightly, and she narrowed her gaze from him to Eidan. “Where am I sitting tonight, Archelemental?”

Typical Scarlet. Blunt, conniving, condescending.

“I think I’ll have you on my left.” Eidan’s barely-there grin suggested he enjoyed toying with Scarlet as much as Sinnder did. The Archelemental faced him. “And since this is Sinnder’s first meeting, he’ll have the place of honor at my right.”

Sinnder inclined his head again. A subtle wave of heat coming from Scarlet’s direction bit into his skin. Keeping his expression neutral, he glanced at her.

“A temporary seating arrangement, I assume?” Scarlet’s irises chilled to a harsh red, the blood-colored flecks dancing in a heated swirl.

Eidan studied her for a long moment, and then turned away. “We’ll see.”

He took his seat in the chair in the south-most corner of the room and gestured for Sinnder to join him. Scarlet splintered off and wound her way around the table, dragging her crimson-polished fingernails across its surface.

The Archelemental made small talk while they waited for the remaining five councilors, and that was fine with Sinnder. He kept his attention on Scarlet as Eidan blathered on about nothing. She seemed more distant than usual, almost listless. As filled as she was with Fire, it was unlike her to do anything without purpose, yet she stared off into space and circled several times before sitting.

Eidan had taken a large portion of her Fire after the attack on the Wyldlings in the Dreaming went bust. Lack of Fire might have explained her unusual behavior. But the last time they’d met, she had seemed quite focused. Perhaps she hadn’t been eating?

The light bulb switched on in his head. This had to do with Gavin Cassidy, didn’t it? And Zoe Morgan, the Wyldling she’d asked him to spy on.

As Eidan welcomed the arriving councilors, Sinnder took the opportunity to watch Scarlet more closely.

He’d learned from delving into her history that Scarlet had had a brief relationship with Gavin, which he had ended a year ago. Since then, she’d made several efforts to reunite with the singer, but they’d all failed.

Then Zoe showed up. Suddenly Scarlet demanded that Sinnder watch her, look into her past, follow her. Sure enough, everything led back to Gavin. And when Gavin caught him spying outside Zoe’s window, Sinnder realized that Gavin loved Zoe.

Scarlet was jealous in a way only a Fyre Elemental could be, which would no doubt result in excruciating agony and/or death for the object of her hatred. A shame. Sinnder sort of liked Zoe.

Eidan called the meeting to order. Introductions were made, and the Archelemental got down to business.

“Sinnder will open with his report on the whale that’s slated to be the next Wæter Archelemental.” Eidan leaned elbows on the table and repositioned himself in his chair.

“I sent three teams of Fyres out to look for the mother and calf, and they’ve successfully killed one mother so far. Obviously, it’s difficult for Fyres to get close to whales in the water.” Sinnder cringed inside as he remembered the sensation of being flash-frozen when he’d tripped and fallen in a lake shortly after becoming a Fyre. It was not a feeling one could easily forget. And nearly drowning had kept him far away from water. Until now.

“One of the teams hasn’t checked in for a few days, but the others have returned safely. They’re planning runs in Hervey Bay and expanding the search down the coast to Sydney.”

Charr, a slight man with shifty red eyes, cleared his throat and raised a hand. “If I may interrupt, I believe I know where your missing team may have gone.”

Eidan stretched forward, fastened his gaze on Charr, and nodded for him to continue.

“I’m in charge of recruiting Fyres, and during my dealings in Sydney two days ago, I received word from informants near Maroubra Beach that the Tongans had an…altercation with some Fyres there. I assumed it had to do with the whale we’re looking for.”

A collective gasp rose from the other councilors, and Sinnder tightened his grip on the arm of his chair.

When new Fyres joined the fold, they were warned about the Tongans—three hulking male Wæter Elementals, rumored to be triplets, though no Fyre who’d ever met them had lived long enough to verify the relationship.

Stories of the trio’s exploits in Sydney were legendary. Pack mentality. Masters of stealth. No mercy. Like killer whales Sinnder had seen on TV going after prey. Deadly, machine-like efficiency at its best.

Odd for Wæter Elementals.

“If the Tongans are involved, we’ll need reinforcements,” Charr said.

“Are you sure it was them?” Eidan stared at Charr, his expression intent but calm.

“I heard they decided to do a ‘beach clean-up’ of Fyres in the area. Retaliation against the Sentinels who won’t let them into the Dreaming.” He paused to look at Sinnder. “Your team members were probably dead before they even saw the Tongans coming.”

Very likely. Younger Fyres were not only difficult to control, but most were also stupid enough to think they could take on stronger Elementals. They made great fodder for kamikaze missions like slaughtering whales in their natural habitats. Idiots.

Eidan eased back in his chair. A smile slithered over his face. “So, relations between the Sentinels and the Wæters aren’t as friendly as we thought. The Sentinels are sticking to their rules, despite our presence in the Dreaming. Interesting. We’ll use their silly old traditions against them.

“Blaise, double the guard at the door to the Dreaming, and put together a team of our best Fyres to manage the Tongan situation. I want them fully occupied while we continue looking for the Wæters’ missing Archelemental.”

Blaise nodded, her short reddish-blond locks swinging, and she glanced around the room.

She must have known none of the selfish, power-hungry pricks sitting at the table had balls enough to volunteer. Typical of leaders. And also a key ingredient to their downfall.

“I’ll head the team,” Sinnder spoke up softly.

Scarlet paused the grooming routine she’d been executing on her fingernails since the meeting started and straightened in her chair. She looked at him, then Eidan, then back to him, her face flushed. “And I can help. But, Sinnder is a tracker—the best around. It would be a shame to waste his talents on the Tongans when we can use throwaway newbies to keep them busy. It might be better to let Sinnder and me look for the whale.”

Sinnder stilled the quiver in his lip before it had a chance to escape.

Eidan leveled his gaze on him. “Perhaps Scarlet is right. We’ll put Sinnder’s skills to good use. I expect you two will make quick work of the whale. And you have my blessing to kill any others you come across. Disgusting creatures.” He waved a dismissive hand.