Just Breathe Part 37

Vexx backhanded him across the chest. "Children in the room!" She nodded toward Whetu on the couch, then sat cross-legged on the carpet.

The television against the wall flashed images of wildfires, buildings burning to the ground, and handcuffed detainees wearing crazed expressions, screaming at police.

"...and riots have ensued across the country in the wake of this rash of arson and violent crime. Entire city blocks in Brisbane and Sydney have been evacuated. Amid rumors of martial law, the Prime Minister has sent Australian Army Reserve officers into every major city in hopes of calming this unexplainable sea of rage..."

Gavin slapped the off b.u.t.ton on the TV. Zoe could tell by the muscles quivering in his cheek he could barely contain his anger. "What are we going to do about this?"

"I've contacted some Erthes who've agreed to a.s.sist with the more...physical situation here in Realis." Jet glanced at the blank television. "But it's only about fifteen or so Elementals. Against sneaky Fyres and thousands of rioters spread over an entire country, they won't be able to do much."

"Our best bet is to let the Wyldling officials handle what they can here, and trust that we'll find the Dreamweaver so the Sentinels can take care of the Fyres in the Dreaming." Jack met and held Zoe's gaze.

A bitter taste filled her mouth. She nodded. Time for Zoe to pull her Waeter army together. As soon as the door opened, they had to be ready to flood the gates.

Whetu faced her and tilted her head to the side. She blinked, her now-yellow eyes a beautiful but shocking contrast to her dark skin. "I'm ready to start looking for the door."

Zoe's heart skipped a beat. Was Gavin truly off the hook with Scarlet now? Or was Whetu bluffing?

Everyone turned to the little girl. No one spoke for a long moment.

Please don't be bluffing.

Determination sparked Gavin's eyes. "I'll go with you."

Drawing in a deep breath, Zoe rubbed her palm with a thumb. The name of the game was trust. While Gavin and Whetu were busy with the door, she'd focus on what she had to do to bring peace back to the Dreaming and trust that everyone else would do their part.

Gavin wouldn't let her down again.

He wouldn't.

But regardless of what direction Gavin went, Zoe's path led elsewhere. Which meant she would have to face the fires of her past, present, and future alone.

Chapter Forty.

Why had she told them she could find the Dreaming door?

Whetu was so eager to help the Wyldlings, so desperate to please Vexx and her friends, and so weary from the flas.h.i.+ng images in her mind, she'd blurted out the words before good sense stopped her.

She, Gavin, and the Elementals had been scouring the town for over eight hours, but they'd turned up nothing. Not that she could concentrate with all the mental and verbal bickering. Their loud thoughts overwhelmed, distracted, pressured her further. Jet and Vexx had reached a point of desperation. Byrn was resigned to failure.

Gavin kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror, frowning. Disappointed.

And scared. The foreign Fire in his chest filled him with dark thoughts when Zoe wasn't around. He feared where those thoughts might drive him tonight. His stood at the edge of sanity, overlooking a vast pit of hungry red flames. Whetu didn't want to be anywhere near when he fell and that Fire got loose. She s.h.i.+vered and looked out the window.

The sun had gone down.

Soon the Wyldlings would sleep.

And die.

Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. She missed Papa so much. Especially now that the Air had claimed her.

Papa, please guide me. I want to help. I don't know what else to do.

Her mind had sunk too deeply into the maze the last few days. She'd gotten lost, unable to pull back enough to see the bigger picture.

Vexx faced her in the backseat. "Maybe if you tried looking at the maze from a different angle. Share an image with me. I might be able to help."

Poor Vexx. On top of facing the Dreaming's deadline and preparing for the likely chance of Wyldling war, she worried for Whetu most of all. She genuinely cared about Whetu. The feeling was mutual. It seemed Vexx was the only person who understood her.

Whetu closed her eyes, reframed the maze in her mind as best she could, and mentally pushed a snapshot of it to her friend.

Friend? Yes, Vexx was that. And more.

"Did you get it?" Whetu asked.

The Aer's golden eyes lost focus for a moment. "Elevations... Urbanization... Industrial... Map... Map!" A light snapped on behind her concerned features. Vexx drew her phone from her pocket and began typing.

From the pa.s.senger seat up front, Byrn turned to them. Whetu cringed at the heat coming off him. It reminded her of the Fyres who'd captured and burned her. She ran shaking fingers across the scar down her neck.

Scarlet had hurt her and killed her beloved Papa, along with many other people. Whetu hoped she'd meet a painful death for her countless crimes.

Jet straightened beside her. Careful not to touch Whetu's skin, she leaned over to peer at Vexx's phone.

Vexx tapped the screen, widened the map view, and showed it to Whetu.

Whetu's heart raced. How could she not have recognized it? The maze wasn't a maze at all. It was a satellite map. The blind alleys, bottlenecks, and dead ends she'd deciphered had actually been roads, geographical features, and bodies of water as seen from far above the earth. With each layer she'd peeled back, she'd come closer to a street-level view.

Whetu took the phone and reviewed the details of the maze she'd stored in memory. She transposed the clues Papa had left her onto the map and tracked the lines to a neglected industrial area outside of Hervey Bay. Flas.h.i.+ng the device back at Vexx, hands still trembling, she pointed. "Here. The door to the Dreaming is here."

Vexx grinned and threw her arms around Whetu. "You did it! Gavin, take Boat Harbour Drive west toward Torquay. It's in an abandoned warehouse."

Jet snorted. "Abandoned warehouse? Could the Fyres be any more cliche?"

"What do you expect?" Byrn said. "These Australian Fyres love their American TV."

Gavin tossed him a sideways glare, but the hint of a smile curved the corner of his mouth. Determination replaced the tension in his broad shoulders. "Torquay, here we come."

Vexx took Whetu's hand and held her gaze. "I knew you'd help us find the door. Your Air is strong. I'm so proud of you, Whetu."

A great breeze of cool, airy relief swept over her. For the first time since she was abducted, Whetu smiled.

And I'm proud of you, too, aroha, Papa's voice whispered in her mind.

Gavin took a deep breath outside the run-down building on the outskirts of Torquay. His arms spread palpable light through the darkness, the red tattoos blaring louder than the others.

With no warning, biology kicked him in the b.a.l.l.s and put his c.o.c.k in a chokehold. Violent visions of f.u.c.king Scarlet darted between scattered swells of reason. Without Zoe there to ground him, his mind spun out of control. Snippets from the past-or maybe the future-plagued his thoughts, spreading like a virus, feasting on his decaying sanity.

Dancing images sharpened with sickening clarity. He yanked Scarlet's head back by the hair and twisted until she cried out. Her whimpers turned to taunting laughter. As he pounded her from behind, he slid his hands around Scarlet's throat, nice and slowly, and squeezed.

Yes. Tighter. Kill her. Suffocate her.

The tendrils inside him woke up and stretched, increasing the tension between Scarlet's Fire and his.

f.u.c.k, he was hungry. For Scarlet.

And she was here.

He licked his lips as more high-def visions of Scarlet contaminated the widescreen of his mind. She smiled over her shoulder at him, t.i.ts bouncing with each thrust. She wore Zoe's face.

Come and get me, lover. More demonic laughter.

He shook his head and scrubbed his face. f.u.c.k. He had to pull his s.h.i.+t together.

When he emerged from his twisted fantasy, he was surrounded by four questioning stares. The Elementals must've thought he'd gone mad.

Yes. Yes, he f.u.c.king had.

"I reckon there are several Fyres in there, guarding the door," Gavin said, his mind swimming. "I'll take point. Whetu and Vexx, stay directly behind me. I need you close to help me navigate. Byrn and Jet, cover the Aers. They're most vulnerable."

"We've done this a few times before, Sentinel boy. We know the drill." Byrn crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's get on with it."

Gavin swallowed the insult screaming its way up his throat. "Whetu hasn't done this before. And we don't have a Waeter, which would come in really handy about now."

Jet, Byrn, and Vexx exchanged smiles.

"Did I miss something?" The secrets Jack's merry band of Elementals were so fond of sharing were starting to irritate him.

Byrn grinned wryly and rocked on his heels, the toes of his boots rising off the dirt. "Nope. Nothing at all. After you, Guitar Hero." He gestured to the warehouse entrance.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

When he got to the door, Gavin tried opening it. Not surprisingly, it was locked. Jet stepped forward, gripped the metal handle, and ripped it off as if it were made of paper.

f.u.c.k. Glad she was on his side, he stared at her for a moment. She said nothing.

In they went.

And his leashed Fire stoked again.

His chest burned to the point of agony. He fell against the wall and pressed a hand to his sternum. The Fire tattoos deepened to an unearthly red and throbbed in time to the beat of his heart.

Scarlet wanted her Fire back.

Double f.u.c.k.

"Bad s.h.i.+t ahead," came Jet's voice from behind and to the left.

Understatement of the decade.

Whetu's shaking hand grasped the back of Gavin's s.h.i.+rt. With Scarlet showing her a.r.s.e through their unholy connection, he was probably not the best person to hold on to.

"Stick with me, girl." Vexx shot him a pointed look and guided Whetu away. "I gotcha covered."

Byrn stretched his arms to the sides as if waking from a nap. The movement sent a heat wave through the moldy-smelling darkness.

Embers in Gavin's chest sputtered.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a Fyre." Byrn dropped his gaze to Gavin's chest.

Gavin avoided Byrn's eyes. "Just enjoy your meal away from the Aers." He continued onward, Scarlet's tug guiding him. s.h.i.+t, was he putting everyone in danger by being here?

"If Half-Pint stays outta my way, she'll be fine. The rest of us can take care of ourselves."

That collective smile bounced around again. What the h.e.l.l were they up to?

Enough of this s.h.i.+t. He turned to Whetu. "Where to?"

The wide-eyed girl pointed left-same direction as Scarlet was pulling him. Navy blue worry and red-brown fear invaded the yellow at the core of Whetu's aura. He didn't have time to feel sorry for her now. He'd apologize for his coldness later. a.s.suming there was a later.

He headed down the hall, combat boots echoing off the tile floor, conjuring flurries of dust motes in the dim glow of his tattoos. With each step, the Fire grew, livened.

He needed Zoe.

s.h.i.+t, he hadn't spoken to her since this morning. It had been a mad house at home. They'd barely had a chance to say goodbye. What if...

Don't go there.

Jack told him that Xanthos bloke would tail her. She should be okay. He lifted his chin and continued onward through the increasingly hot building.

Each step brought him closer to Scarlet. He tried to tune into her thoughts, but he got only static.

I can feel you, Gavin. So nosy. Did you like the burnt little pressies I left you this morning? Hospital security never saw me coming. I laid waste to an entire maternity ward, just for you, my love. Those wee babies were adorable, swaddled in blankets of ash.

No! A wave of fury rolled up his back, and Byrn appeared at his side. He pointedly looked Gavin in the eyes and brushed his hand. "Mind on business." His voice was firm. Committed.

Some of the heat diffused out of Gavin through the brief skin-to-skin connection. He was happy for Byrn to siphon as much as he wanted.

Scarlet loosened her grip without further comment.