Just Breathe Part 27

Flat line.

Scarlet's foul odor rolled off the body in nauseating waves.

Gavin shook his friend. "I told you not to f.u.c.k around with Scarlet, you a.s.shole. Why didn't you listen?" Another rough shake.

Limbs trembling and eyes watering, Gavin channeled a bit of Earth Jack had loaned him into the lifeless body.

"Come on, f.u.c.ker." He slapped Trevor's face. "Come on!"

Nothing.

Gavin inhaled a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused the last of his Earth into kicking Trevor's heart back to life. He envisioned fingers of green energy squeezing the organ, forcing it to pump in a steady beat. When the heart remained still, he targeted a Fire injection directly into the muscle.

One beat.

Two.

Stall.

Gavin shocked the heart again. "I swear to f.u.c.k I'll never give you s.h.i.+t about your bad haircut again if you come out of this, mate."

Two more beats.

Three...four...five...

Grinning, Gavin whipped out his cell phone and dialed in an ambulance request to emergency services. Then he collapsed on the carpet next to Trevor.

Chapter Thirty.

Hints of breaking daylight shone through the shades of Whetu's eyelids. Morning already? Though her body remained paralyzed, worry had prevented her mind from finding any rest.

A change of plans had brought her to Gavin's house in the middle of the night. There had been a fire. Had anyone been hurt? How long would she be here? When would that scary Fyre leave? All the jostling had disrupted Whetu's equilibrium.

With no answers, she reasoned that wasting time worrying about things she couldn't change was futile. So, she pushed her fears aside and soldiered onward, into the isolated safety of deciphering the maze. Papa would want that.

Her mind unfolded, releasing dimensions of information, growing exponentially. She ventured through twists, turns, curves, and corkscrews. Dead ends, leads, and setbacks consumed her.

Obsessed with finding the key to the maze, she fought off Vexx's incessant intrusions, but every once in a while, a ma.s.sive...breeze swept in. It was the only word she could think of to describe it. Like the breath of G.o.d, it ruffled her thoughts-scattered them like dandelion seeds at the wind's mercy.

That soft wind filled her soul, lightened it with tiny pockets of crisp air.

Whenever the breeze blew, her mind ascended the currents to peaks beyond the atmosphere, reaching into another world.

Papa had been an Aer Elemental.

She feared she soon would be one, too.

No worries, Whetu. Let the wind whisk your fear into the darkness. Allow only light inside your mind.

These strange revelations and internal dialogues had become more and more frequent with each pa.s.sing day. What happened to the little girl she'd been a few weeks ago? The person inside her head was far older, wiser than that child. The ma.s.sive amount of knowledge, the sharp reasoning skills, the impeccable memory-these things frightened her, now that she had an idea where they were leading her.

Into the center of the maze.

Soon she would reach that secret, hidden place. Her knowledge would make her valuable, but it would also put her life at risk. The Fyres who kept her captive in the burn unit at the hospital would be nothing compared to the enemies awaiting her at the door to the Dreaming.

I hear your thoughts tumbling, Whetu.

Vexx again.

I know you're in there. If you don't come out soon, I'll have to force you out, and neither of us wants that. Your brain is going through a metamorphosis. Shortly, you'll break free of the ties binding you to this human body and ascend into a higher level of consciousness. I can help you through your change, but only if you let me in.

I'm not ready, Whetu thought.

Vexx paused for a moment, perhaps surprised she finally got a response. Whetu hadn't wanted to give it to her, but uncertainty and lack of guidance forced her hand.

I understand. You'll be ready soon. It has to be soon, Whetu. The Sentinels must find the entrance into the Dreaming.

I don't know where it is.

Your father said you did.

I'm...working on it. It's very complicated.

With a cool, gentle hand, Vexx patted her on the cheek. Okay. Keep at it. I'm here if you need help. I don't mean to frighten you, but if the Sentinels can't secure the door into the Dreaming within the next three days, thousands-maybe even millions of human lives will be lost. Do you see why you're so important?

Millions? n.o.body ever said so many people's fates rested on her shoulders. She was only a nine-year-old girl. Concentration disrupted again, she said, I will hurry, Vexx.

What had Papa done to her?

Thick gray clouds masked the light from the sun hanging directly overhead, but there was no stopping the unseasonable heat. Wiping her brow, Zoe scanned the choppy water for blows, though nowadays she relied much more on her inner ear-the one that understood the whales-to help her locate them than her eyes. After the house fire, she was anxious to speak to the Elementals. Maybe they'd have some good news to break the streak of bad luck.

At least her visit to the Dreaming had been successful. With Gavin and Jack out of the house, she dreamed vividly and with purpose all night long. Her efforts to build an army continued to pay off. She focused on educating Wyldlings in the Dreaming, urging them not to panic when 'nightmares' struck. She warned that intense, fiery emotions would only feed the demons-which was not an exaggeration-and encouraged humans to spread the message to others.

There'd also been a noticeable increase in the number of Waeter Elementals she encountered over the last week. Most often, she found them waiting along the fringes of the Dreaming, alongside Westbrook and his friends. She tried to let them in, but the marble door still refused to open.

There had to be a way inside. Those Waeters would be a huge a.s.set. Their promises to help when the time came were as good as she could get. The Waeters wanted the Fyres out as much as the Sentinels did, so she trusted them to follow through.

Whoever had the bright idea to keep Elementals out of the Dreaming needed a reality check. This outdated rule of theirs was stupid and served no purpose other than to create unnecessary temptations for corrupt Elementals.

How easy would life in the Dreaming be if Elementals could come and go freely? If Fyres got out of hand, the Waeters would be there to snuff them. Fyres would balance the Aers, Aers would keep Erthes in check, and Erthes would monitor the Waeters. If the Elementals policed themselves, the Sentinels would have a built-in safety net with little need to mediate disputes.

A couple of blows misted the air a few hundred meters away, shaking Zoe out of her musings. Adriene pointed the Zodiac's bow toward the whales, and Zoe sent out her greeting call.

Have you seen Lily and her calf? Any Waeters?

They're not far behind us, came a reply.

In minutes, a crowd of humpback voices diffused through the waves. The chirps and grunts dashed in an excited rush, faster than usual. Pitches rose and electrified the hairs on Zoe's skin. She'd experienced endorphin highs many times on the water in close encounters with whales, but never a buzz quite like this. Almost as if the air was wired with monofilament superconductors hooked up to a huge wave generator shooting tingly pulses everywhere.

She faced each of the cardinal directions in search of the source. The surface ahead churned with bubbles, and a calf breached out of the water. Its mother followed. Around them, flippers lifted and slapped, tails pounded, bellies flashed white.

What were they so riled about?

Adriene stopped the boat. Zoe grabbed the DTAG-laden pole and propped a bare foot on the bow. Behind her, Dani and Elizabeth grabbed the clipboard and camera.

What's going on, guys? You having a party? Someone must have forgotten to mail my invitation. Zoe grinned and readjusted her cap.

It's a party, all right. Another round of breaches went off like shots from guns. The voices continued prattling. The fast-paced chatter was worse than hanging out with teenagers at the movie theatre on a Friday night. Zoe shook her head.

Greetings, Zoe, Lily said.

Zoe scanned the horizon and spotted Lily and Araluen closing from about fifty meters. "Ten o'clock," she shouted to Adriene amid the loud splashes and rising waves. "I think that's Lily."

I must've missed all kinds of fun during the storms, Zoe projected to Lily.

Yes, the Aer Elementals have helped a bit with the weather. They have much to gain by seeing the Fyres put out.

Little Araluen blew. Lily's wide back appeared under him in the water column. She was still helping him breathe. He should be able to do that without much reminding at this age.

"Lily's got a calf?" Adriene said.

Zoe nodded. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

She crouched down, the pole forgotten. How are you, Araluen? Feeling any better? Turn around and let me have a look at your fluke.

Lily's eye watched Zoe from just under the surface. Inscrutable.

Hiding something.

The calf did as he was told and lifted his mauled tail. A few ragged shreds still remained where the orca had taken out the cookie-bite chunk. Zoe wasn't a veterinarian, but the sickly grayish-white color seemed indicative of infection.

"Oh my G.o.d." Elizabeth covered her mouth. "What happened to his fluke?"

"Looks like a killer whale got hold of him. Or a shark," Zoe said. Does it still hurt?

It's sore, but Mum's taking good care of me. I'll be all right.

"Poor little guy." Dani appeared at Zoe's side and gestured to the cantilever. "Do you want me to do the tagging?"

G.o.d, she must have thought Zoe was a total nut job, standing there, staring over the front of the boat at the mother-calf pair. She handed Dani the pole and stepped back to give her some s.p.a.ce. "Yeah, sure."

Probably best. Zoe had conversations to conduct anyway. She caught Adriene's eye, and a wink of acknowledgment told her to go about her business.

Lily ghosted away, deeper into the water, leaving Araluen at the surface.

Zoe climbed around to the back of the boat and stood on the small diving platform. Do you have any news from Lana? Is the Water collection going okay?

I understand she's handling her responsibilities well and that t.i.thes are still pouring in. As you can see, the whales in the bay are happy, therefore the Elementals are, too. The Waeters may be able hold their own after the t.i.thing ritual in a few days.

Though Lily said the right words, the pensive wistfulness in her voice bugged the s.h.i.+t out of Zoe.

A patch of darkness threw Zoe in shadow. She glanced to the sky. The gathering c.u.mulonimbus clouds had moved in fast. Perhaps under an Elemental escort? With rising waves and the promise of rain, the research team would have to head back to harbor soon. But first she needed more information.

Are your followers supporting Lana, too?

I cannot force them to do anything against their will, but I've asked every Elemental I meet to make the t.i.the accordingly. The whale's tone lacked confidence.

You're not convincing me that everything's peaches and cream out here.

What will be will be.

It wasn't so much what Lily said that bothered her, but what she didn't say.

A crack of lightning sliced open the air, a knife wound through the sky, and foreboding thunder rolled behind it.

Another big storm coming.

Chapter Thirty-one.

Zoe's stomach had been out of sorts since she spoke to Lily that afternoon, and the nagging good news/bad news about the VP job came with a side of flambeed spleen. "I have something I need to tell you."

She and Gavin lay on his bed on their sides, facing each other. He looked beat. Dark smudges underscored his faded blue eyes. Red lines shot through the whites. Furrows seemed permanently entrenched in his forehead. Even his hair spikes drooped.

She was worried about him. For a lot of reasons.

It was late, and he clearly needed some rest, but this was important. Plus, she just plain needed to be with him. He grounded her.

She'd been chewing on how to break the promotion news all day. It wasn't fair to keep it from Gavin any longer.

"What is it?" His neutral expression gave no indication of the feelings hiding behind the wall he'd put up.