Just Breathe Part 7

s.h.i.+t.

"Sinnder, you're new to the Council. I suspect you wish to gain favor among your peers."

Hardly.

Eidan glanced around the table at the stormy faces. Fire surged and retreated like fighting dogs between them, hungry for a root with the baton of leaders.h.i.+p.

"I'd like you to devise a plot for a country-wide push for Fire and oversee its execution." The Archelemental gestured at the bishops. "You have your choice of any of these p.a.w.ns. They are all at your disposal."

A collective growl rose up from the heated throats of the six other Fyres, and all eyes turned to Sinnder.

He didn't give a flaming f.u.c.k about Eidan, the Council, or the Fyres.

He fixed his gaze on dismayed, red-cheeked Scarlet.

But her...

Kill her. Make her pay for what she did to Eileen. For what she made you.

If he involved Scarlet in the plot, he could take her out when she least expected it. All the lives she'd ended, all the love she'd murdered, and all the heartbreak she'd exacted would be avenged. He'd waited over a thousand years for this opportunity. His reward was long overdue.

The fiery predator lying dormant inside him shook awake and stretched against the earthly confines of skin and bone.

Sinnder jostled out of his reverie, insides trembling at His unexpected appearance.

No. No. No! It's too soon. I'm not ready...

Fire smiled.

Certain the bishops had noticed the abrupt change in his Fire, Sinnder glanced around the table. They just stared, apparently waiting for him to respond to Eidan's request.

A mixture of fear, acceptance, and satisfaction seized Sinnder's reeling mind. Last thing he wanted was Him involved. Yet, Sinnder had always known the presence he harbored inside was the only means of ensuring an acceptable end to his problems.

The old man Yileen had been right about everything. Sinnder's destiny was fixed. There was nothing he could do to change it. So he didn't bother trying.

A plan sparked to life.

Sinnder snapped his focus to Eidan. "We'll target the most populous cities in the country: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, New Castle, and Canberra. That would account for two-thirds of the population. We'll set off bombs on the twenty-second of September, the day before the equinox, to ensure the Waeters have no chance of retaliation."

Eidan flashed a half-grin. "Excellent."

"I'll need explosives. Lots of them. And every Fyre you've got."

The Archelemental's grin smeared into laughter. "Done."

Sinnder felt red swell in his eyes.

Fire-true Fire-was back. And He was hungry.

Scarlet burst out of the Council meeting room, steam puffing from her nostrils. She waved the smoke away, fumbled with her keys, then tore her spiked heel shoe off and pounded it on the Porsche's window when she couldn't get the door open. The gla.s.s refused to break, which only infuriated her further.

That pretentious p.r.i.c.k. How could Eidan pa.s.s her over for leading the terrorist attack against the Wyldlings? She'd served him for decades, done his bidding-even f.u.c.ked him a time or two-and this was her payment? For s.h.i.+t's sake, she was the one who'd found the door into the Dreaming, thanks to the tip from her informant. She deserved better.

She settled her nerves enough to replace her shoe and open the car door. Mind spinning with blossoming ideas, she drove to Mike's house where, according to her f.u.c.k buddy Trevor, Just Breathe had been rehearsing. Gavin was sure to be there.

Action on her plan to dethrone Eidan and take Gavin back had waited long past its expiration date. Palms itchy with antic.i.p.ation, she rubbed them hard on the steering wheel. Gavin could be hers tonight.

She pulled into the drive and parked. Sad, Watery music oozed from the Cave's open windows as she climbed out of the Porsche. G.o.d d.a.m.n it. Hadn't Gavin gotten over that Morgan b.i.t.c.h yet? She slammed the car door shut.

f.u.c.k Zoe. And Sinnder. And Eidan.

No one answered her rapping-probably couldn't hear it over the music-so she let herself into the house. The moment she walked in, the Watery, blue-themed audio decor in the lounge room s.h.i.+fted to that of red Fire.

Ah, much better. She licked her lips.

Gavin took one look at her, shoved the strap off his shoulder, and tossed his guitar aside. The monitor screeched feedback in protest. The rest of the band stopped playing their instruments and stared. The Fire dancing across Gavin's skin sent feverish shudders sizzling to her core. He was almost as hot as when he'd f.u.c.ked her posing as Zoe, but furious instead of turned on.

Didn't matter. Whether rooted in pa.s.sion or hatred, Fire was Fire.

The muscles in his cheeks clenched. He stomped to the door, dodging the hand she tried to stop him with. Oh, the dark, brooding eyes, the flash of silver from his lip, and the rage pouring off him hooked her Fire and pulled.

Yes, that's it. Closer.

Trevor slammed his sticks onto the nearest drum and rounded on her with a jealous glare. She gave him her back and followed Gavin outside. She'd f.u.c.k the Fire out of Trevor later.

A couple walked their dog down the sidewalk in front of the house. Though it was dusk, enough light remained for pa.s.sersby to see what was going on at the Cave. People were always in and out of here, so Scarlet should be safe. No way Gavin would risk Elemental exposure in public.

She took three steps into the drive, and her Fire reared like a frightened horse. A couple feet away, Gavin trained his Water-laden hand on the center of her chest. The rest of him burned so red, it hurt her eyes. She couldn't concentrate with that delicious Fire eating up the Air between them. Salivating, she bit her lip and tamped down the heat threatening to spin her out of control.

Emboldened by the promise of his pa.s.sion, she ventured closer. "You're angry." Her voice rasped in the s.e.xy tone she'd used on him in bed when they dated.

He tipped his head to the side, and the footprint gem attached to his leather necklace skidded across his collarbone. "You reckon?"

The Watery hand flared with glowing blue light, but the opposing Fire raging inside would soon get the better of him. She'd use it to her advantage.

"I'm not here to apologize. I'm here to offer you a deal."

"No more deals. I want you dead." He glanced sideways at the headlights from another pa.s.sing car.

"Haven't you heard the news? A natural gas plant in Sydney exploded a few hours ago, taking a hundred workers down with it." She brushed some hair from her face and let her hand fall slowly across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, rousing her nipples to attention on the way down. "I think it's safe to a.s.sume Eidan's behind the 'accident.'"

Gavin's expression didn't change, but his Fire pulsed. He stepped closer and pointed a finger at her neck. "You killed those people. And the ones in the bus crash a couple of days ago when the fuel tank caught fire. And the eleven who expired in their sleep last week under 'mysterious' circ.u.mstances."

"Not me." She folded arms under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and plumped them, hoping to s.h.i.+ft his gears from flaming hatred to burning desire. "Ask Eidan. I wasn't involved. But I could have been." She lifted her gaze to his inscrutable face and dropped her hands.

"You lie." His seductive voice was soft.

Scarlet shook her head. "No. Eidan told the Fyres to do as they pleased with the Wyldlings-here and in the Dreaming. 'Whatever it takes to build up our Fire stores before the equinox'-those were his exact words. We both know he's a pompous, power-hungry p.r.i.c.k who cares nothing about the Wyldlings. He wants control. I, on the other hand, only want...you."

She circled Gavin slowly, drinking in every rise and fall, every sputter of Fire dancing over his skin...

G.o.ds, his venomous hatred was delicious.

Her core melted like b.u.t.ter into her little red panties. She caught her breath, slapped her thoughts back together, and continued before she lost momentum. "I've walked this Earth for centuries-millennia, actually. I've wandered every continent, lived in every place you can imagine. Killed hundreds, f.u.c.ked thousands, stolen sanity from millions-all in search of a singular, perfect Fire to keep me sated. When you waltzed into my life two years ago, I found it."

His Adam's apple bobbed over a swallow. She took the sign of weakness as an invitation to move closer. Inches away, with that b.a.s.t.a.r.d blue hand between them, she gently breathed into his face the pheromones that drove Wyldlings mad with l.u.s.t.

"I've never encountered Fire like yours, and I don't think I ever will again. It speaks to me. Controls me. Pleases me. And most importantly, it fills me. When you're inside me, I have no need to feed off others."

He stared at her, his blue eyes as cold and hard as icicles, yet the Fire raged. She slid a warm palm up the back of his arm. The pheromones might not have turned him on, but at least he didn't pull away this time.

"Imagine what we could accomplish together. Fueled by your Fire, I could rise against Eidan, take his position, and rule the Fyres as the new Archelemental. You and I could work together-form a treaty between the Fyres and Sentinels. Begin a new era in the Elemental world where no more Wyldlings will be killed in dreams, senseless explosions, or bus 'accidents.'"

She paused to mute the kindling flames and willed the tense muscles in her face to loosen. "Eidan is a cruel and evil leader. He must be removed from office. He must pay for what he did to those innocents."

The anger painted across Gavin's features dissolved into wariness.

Perfect.

Scarlet lowered the heat dial a bit more. She was so close to convincing him. "I want your Fire, and you want to keep the Wyldlings safe. I'm sure we could work out a mutually beneficial trade."

"Such as?" The blue Water throbbing in his hand faded a tad. "Not that I'm remotely interested. I'm just keen to hear what kind of bulls.h.i.+t 'deal' you're going to concoct for me this time."

"I only want your body." Her gaze wandered to the hard-on she imagined pressing against the inside of his trousers. "I don't care about your soul. You can sort that out on your own. After two millennia, there are few things in life that give me pleasure. You are one of them. Bind your Fire to mine and surrender your body, and I'll not only give you the location of the door into the Dreaming-I'll get the Fyres out for you as an added bonus."

Gavin set his jaw. A white-hot chain reaction ripped from his heart to his appendages. "You want me to bond with you? You gonna tell everyone we're going steady? You've lost your f.u.c.king mind. I hate you."

"No, what we have will be along the lines of a marriage, though we'll share a far more intimate bond than some worthless sc.r.a.p of paper affords. And you can't overturn a Fire Binding with a couple hundred dollars and a good lawyer. Our vows truly last until death does us part."

His nostrils flared. "The sooner for you, the better."

"Wishful thinking, my lover. Once we're bound, neither of us can intentionally harm the other, or we forfeit all Fire to Incendius. Consider it a built-in means of ensuring fidelity."

His hurried nod dripped with enough disbelief to give an atheist a hard-on. "So, I get to spend the rest of my days stuck with you in a no-escape-clause contract?" He pressed a sarcastic index finger to his lips. "Hmm...pledging my Fire for a lifetime of torture at the hands of my most hated enemy almost makes up for what you made me do to the woman I actually loved."

She reached for his cheek. He batted her away, the heat palpable before he even touched her.

Her vision clotted with red. Dear Incendius, the blaze in him was so f.u.c.king sweet, she might crumble right now. "You're forgetting what you'll get out of the deal. Wyldling safety, the Dreaming free of Fyres, Eidan out of commission-it's a Sentinel's wet dream. Binding our Fires together is a small price."

"Small?" he barked out, brows tight over his steaming eyes. "I cheated on and killed Zoe because of you. What makes you think I'll ever forget that?"

"Picture your dead girlfriend while you're s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g me. I can even become her if you like." With a moment's concentration, she reorganized the structure of her face to match Morgan's.

"Never." His fists curled into tight b.a.l.l.s, and fury poured off him like a raging fever. He swiped at her, but the Water had evaporated from his fingers.

Smiling, she easily ducked out of his path and snagged a glimpse of the raven figure clinging to his neck. Still had to get that necklace for her informant. She'd nick it in post-coital bliss after their binding ceremony.

Daring him to conjure enough Water to take a crack at her in his near-frenzy, she rea.s.sumed her normal appearance and laid a hand over her heart. "This is a limited time offer. You have two days to make your decision. Join your Fire with mine, consummate our union, and the Wyldlings will be safe. I swear it."

A defeated soul, beaten by tragedy, battered into submission stared back at her. Such beauty in that hopeless expression.

Now, if she could just stoke the ashes of his Watery love for Zoe into Fire for her...

If the flames grinding between them were any indicator, she'd be back in his bed tomorrow.

Chapter Ten.

Gavin lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, numb. His heart little more than a shredded hunk of poorly maintained biological chest furniture, he covered his eyes with an arm. He hadn't slept for s.h.i.+t in over a week. Hadn't spoken to Zoe in nearly as long.

Every day was a repeat of the one before. He went to band rehearsal, checked in with Jack, asked about Zoe, got the same neutral answers, patrolled the Dreaming, chased after Fyres, and woke up to do it all again. Same s.h.i.+t, different nightmare.

And now Scarlet was back, making outlandish demands he shouldn't even be considering.

The latest news headline just before he'd gone to bed told of an apartment complex tragedy in Maryborough. The entire property had been razed by a fire. Another hundred people dead, including three babies.

f.u.c.k, his heart hurt.

He was so G.o.dd.a.m.n tired of fighting. The Sentinels were getting nowhere in holding off the Fyres. They were too few, too scattered, too ill-equipped to handle anything more than minor scuffles.

Meanwhile, the door to the Dreaming remained hidden, and the Fyres kept coming like a recurring infection. For every one Gavin managed to snuff out in the Dreaming, two more popped up. In typical, indecisive fas.h.i.+on, the Waeters continued to spin their wheels as they waited for Lily to arrive.

And innocent Wyldlings suffered.

Explosions, bush fires, car bombs. More unexplained sleep-related deaths. Gavin had lost track of how many had died at the hands of the Fyres. The public had grown understandably antsy. Everywhere he went, waves of red-brown fear dominated the Wyldlings' auras. Radicals professed this was the beginning of the End Times. Conspiracy theories abounded. The latest claim warned that the government had executed secret scientific programs to induce mania through airborne drugs.

Of course, the allegations were total b.o.l.l.o.c.ks. Insane. Yet people fell victim to the theories. To them, there was no other reasonable explanation.

Just what the Fyres wanted.

Over twenty million people lived in Australia. Gavin was a Sentinel before everything else. He'd been chosen to protect humans and to keep the Balance. Yes, Scarlet was a liar and a murderer, but her aura suggested she told the truth about Eidan encouraging the Fyres to attack Wyldlings. Aside from Whetu, who may or may not wake up before the equinox, Scarlet was his only chance of taking back the door to the Dreaming.

If being her f.u.c.k doll would stop the Fyres from killing people in their sleep, would it be worth it?

No. Scarlet was out of her mind. There was no way he'd agree to binding his Fire with hers. f.u.c.k that crazy b.i.t.c.h. He'd find another solution. He had to.

Desperate voices from the other side of the Veil called out for help. Gavin sighed. Time to go to work. He closed his eyes, relaxed into his pillow, and slipped into the Dreaming.

The dreamscape's atmosphere was heavy with red-tinged sulfur. Wyldlings scattered like fleeing rats. Fyres gave chase. Screams pierced the air in a steadily flowing spate from all directions. Babies cried, children shrieked, adults whimpered and begged in vain for mercy.