Ignis had bigger problems; he couldn’t go to his Flame yet. It would take the concentration of all the elements, Mother Nature and Father Universe as a whole, to stop Moon. It was touchy at best. Moon couldn’t simply be tossed away or obliterated. Moon was needed to aid Earth. If Moon left, Sun would follow. Earth would die. Terra would be devastated to have no home. The elements would need to take a more coaxing effort.
“Your followers are being injured,” Father Universe said to Moon.
“Any human to have set foot on me is protected.”
“What of their loved ones?”
Ignis and his brothers held their breaths as Father Universe and Moon squared off. The stars had crept back behind Moon to lick their wounds.
“I only ask for a little life,” Moon wailed. “A tiny flicker of breath.”
“Don’t you see, you have life, human life,” Father Universe explained. “Humans are so drawn to you they built devises that would bring them to you.
They come to you.
Humans are so fascinated with you they developed a love of finding other planets.”
“Which makes me obsolete,” Moon said, pouting.
“Never. You will remain in human hearts forever. Even now, they orbit you, gaze in adoration up at you. Let them explore you now the way you are, they will appreciate what they have with you as an example. Both you and Sun are proof if you take too much there is a consequence.”
“When will humans learn?” Moon asked, his tone now scathing.
“They are learning,” Terra insisted. “They are slow but coming around. With you here and space flight increasing, more will travel to see you, more will understand the beauty of Earth and the wonder of you.”
Ignis heard Flame in his thoughts, she was screaming in terror. If Moon didn’t come around soon, his Flame would go out.
* * * *
“Both of you into the boat,” Barkley demanded.
Flame still held Lisa to her chest; Barkley warned her if she set the child down, he would shoot her. With disgust, Flame realized he meant it. If her firewall went up, the child would be incinerated. Every so often, Flame felt the soles of her feet heat up, her fingers smoldered and she had to keep shifting Lisa in her arms, lest she scald the child. Barkley reminded her as she shifted again, if she dropped the child he would shoot his daughter. Flame was panicking. She couldn’t let Barkley murder his own daughter, but the child was getting heavier by the second. The boat was pitching and rocking; it was all she could do just to stay upright.
Flame climbed into the small power boat that had been lowered from the vessel. The tiny craft seemed to jump with the intensity of the storm. The waves slapped at the boat’s sides and over Flame and Lisa. They were almost on land; the irony of the warrant still molded to her breasts was bittersweet. She could arrest Barkley, but he would only laugh at her. While she held the child, she could do nothing.
The boat was battered by waves and try as she might, Flame could see no sign of Nimbus. Barkley took them deep inside a watery cave. The water was rising higher. A small light on the front of the boat guided them. He ordered Flame and Lisa out when they bumped into the ledge of the cave. Flame looked around, the cave was smallish, there didn’t look to be another way out, they would drown in a slow agonizing death.
“You can’t leave us here,” Flame shouted. The girl’s arms were locked around her neck.
“I’m not,” Barkley said and laughed. “Just you.” He stood and reached over to yank Lisa from Flame’s grasp. Her firewall went up immediately.
“A lot of good it will do you now,” Barkley yelled and laughed.
Flame could hear Lisa howling for her as the boat powered up and moved away. Flame was alone on the ledge. The fire enclosure offered little comfort. Before long, there would be nothing left of it.
Water was pouring into the cave; Flame was trying not to panic. The area surrounding her boiled and hissed, turning the ocean before her into a mass of bubbly soup. Her firewall stayed up but inch by inch it was doused. The water sizzled and steamed, adding to the intensity of the situation like an anticlimax. Flame clawed at the smooth walls, her fingernails tearing off in her effort to be free. It was so dark without Barkley’s light and the flickering flames were slowly dying. She smashed the walls with her fists until her knuckles ached and protested in agony. Flame kicked sideways, toppled over into the water and came up spluttering. There were no higher ledges to offer an escape.
“Ignis,”
she screamed, succumbing to fear.
But he couldn’t come, he couldn’t help her. If he exploded onto the scene, he would be doused. She was caged within a cave, within the walls of dark watery death. Barkley had used the information she was forced to give him about her firewall to his advantage—but she had to tell him; he was capable of killing his own child. Perhaps Flame’s death would buy the child some time. She knew Ignis wouldn’t let her death be in vain, but that was little consolation.
On her tiptoes, Flame gasped in air; the water rose over her head forcing her to tread water—she had only seconds left as the tide rose. Cold wetness slapped at her face, adding insult to injury. She choked, dragged in a ragged breath, her lips almost pressed to the ceiling in her cave coffin then everything went black as the water seemed to explode and swirled over her head.
The feeling was surreal. She was living death, a swimming corpse; it was only a matter of time. Flame knew she was about to die. A motion caught her attention and to her left Flame saw a huge apparition approach; she whimpered wondering what it was. Barkley had teased mercilessly of sharks, swearing he would drip his child’s blood into the water to coax the beasts into a frenzy. The figure became more defined the closer it came. It was a man’s face; bright, glowing blue eyes mirrored her fear and Flame was soon engulfed in a strong embrace.
The need for breath was overwhelming now. She struggled; strong hands roamed her body in a soothing gesture and Flame knew it was Nimbus. He was the cause of the last burst of water, to transport himself to her. It was too late, Flame tried to draw in a breath and water streamed down her throat into her lungs. She felt it racing through her veins to her heart. Nimbus cupped her head to his chest and she could feel him inside of her.
Breathe.
How?
Remember.
Flame did remember—amniotic fluid. At one time, she had been surrounded with liquid; at one specific time, all life had been privy to Nimbus who watched growth from inside the womb until birth. He would then release his children into the world, to make their way amongst the elements. Only now, Flame was part of Nimbus again, he flowed through her, allowing her to be one with him. Slowly, the ocean water was pushed back as it swirled around them. Flame looked deeply into the rolling waves. Back through time, her memories were taken to keep her mind off what was happening while Nimbus controlled his element—she felt his struggle as he attempted to turn the tide.
Flame could see tiny creatures emerge from the water as her mind was propelled to the beginning of time, and she felt strangely drawn to the creatures. She could feel the excitement of a young spirit, an entity—no—an element. Nimbus had been so pleased to watch these creatures crawl from the surrounding pools of a substance so like amniotic fluid. He had helped Mother Nature create life—it was no wonder humans were made up of so much water. Nimbus flowed through humans.
Power, rage and ferociousness stormed into Flame’s thoughts and she could tell Nimbus was fighting for her life while trying to keep her calm. Could Nimbus overpower the moon? Moon wasn’t cruel, but there was order to the universe and what Nimbus did was going against everything taught to the elements. But in the recesses of her mind, she felt her thoughts joined by each brother. Each element banded together to offer aid. The Earth shifted and roared while trying to halt then turn back—back. Terra was in control of his own element; they were joined by Ventus who blew the winds with all his might, aiding Terra. Flame felt them all, battling to save one single human.
The idea was almost too much as she felt each thought bombard her, paralyze her. Fire was in her thoughts too—she heard him hammering away at the cave, the water dousing him, back he came again and again. Flame felt Fire’s anger, his rage and his fear. There was too much to focus on, too many thoughts until Flame thought she might panic, and suddenly they were gone. Nimbus was once more in control of her mind. He again took her on a thought travel to spare her sanity of being trapped near death while elements battled the natural order of life.
As time passed, Flame felt the sadness as the oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds succumbed to pollution. People tried to always remember where they came from; the paradox was they didn’t seem to care they destroyed what they were. Bonding with an element was so intense, Flame felt everything and more. Nimbus didn’t hate humans; he worried for them, he’d helped create them after all.
As the water lowered past her shoulders, Flame could feel the pull of it as it seeped from her semi-permeable skin, oozing from her pores. She was exhausted and Nimbus held her upright.
As soon as the water is gone, so will I be. My element has run amok,
Flame heard him in her thoughts.
Ignis cannot wait much longer.
“I failed.” She began weeping.
Nimbus tipped her head back to gaze into her eyes. “You are one of the most courageous women I have ever had the honor of meeting.”
Then he was gone. Flame crumpled to her side onto the wet ground.
Chapter 11
Flame was sitting curled on the floor sobbing, her nude body wracked with spasms in her grief. Ignis burst through the rock, shattering it into oblivion. When he spotted her, he roared in fury. Orange-red shards of flaming fire shot from his fingers and toes as he grabbed her to his chest. Her weeping near broke his element’s heart.
“I lost her, I lost them both.” Flame sobbed.
“This was not your fault,” Ignis boomed. Within seconds the heat from his body dried and warmed her.
“Barkley has Lisa. Why didn’t Nimbus stop him?”
“He couldn’t my love.” The agony in her voice almost sent him to his knees. “Nimbus needed to control the water or you would have drowned.”
“But Nimbus is water.”
“You know that’s not how it works. Water is everywhere and it is used daily. Nimbus doesn’t control it from everywhere, he is not in every sip you taste nor in each pool you swim. Not all tsunamis are his doing, he is not aware of all who drown. It was a miracle he found you in time.”
“But Barkley has the child. He murdered his ex-wife.”
“No, Nimbus saved the Barkley woman and she has been reunited with her sons.”
“She’s alive?”
“Yes, Nimbus was only able to save the woman before he had to battle, and as we speak Barkley is being followed in his private plane by Ventus. Ventus doesn’t dare crash the plane—if not for the child, he would have sent it spiraling into a mountain. When they land, we will track them. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I promise you.”
As soon as Barkley hit dry land he had raced to the airport. With the skies clearing as Father Universe and the elements won their battle, the heavens settled giving Barkley a clean escape. But it didn’t stop Ventus from riding on the bastard’s heels.
Flame continued to sob against Ignis’s chest as he lifted her into his arms. In his fury, he rode the back of continuous heat lightning, using its bursts as stepping stones into the sky. His brave little Flame never gave up; she only needed to heal her heart. This wasn’t only Barkley’s fault, the constellations had waged war on a human female, trapping her in their mess of frivolous wants; it was atrocious. Ignis heard the communication of the stars and Moon, it was subdued—as it should be. Each and every one of them should douse their glowing lights in shame. Sun burned bright in her rage as she scolded the constellations and Moon, adding more lightning.
The world was energized with the elements’ wrath—first the battle and now Flame’s misery. Only Father Universe controlled the anger lest the Earth be blown apart in their fury. Flame was considered one of their own, when one took on an element or a loved one of an element deadly dangerous things happened. Did the humans not see this when Mother Nature struck out when they hurt her son Terra? The first of Earth’s weapons scarred Terra, causing his brothers to do damage, and yet Terra had said no. The wars killed enough humans. It didn’t stop the brothers from adding misery to the human’s actions.
Fulgor sent one last burst of lightning, and as Ignis stepped down onto the rainbow, he laid his little Flame amidst the purplish blue hues with reds and yellows on either side. Ignis had tried to love her as a human man, but the control he needed was too much when fire was so unpredictable at times. Ignis was a free spirit, the brighter he burned, the more stunning the accomplishment. Flame needed him to burn brightest now.
The stunning rainbow was aglow, adding more light, giving the illusion of a double rainbow. Flame’s entire body came alive with colors—her feet and ankles meshed with reds, her luscious thighs and behind were a purple-indigo. Every part of her took on a new color, a beautiful chameleon.
Her slender arm rose and she stared at her hand as she twisted it with awe. The droplets of her tears looked like bright colored candy. Her once woebegone gaze was awash with wonder.