Just Breathe Part 33

September 22 Several hours later, a sudden vibration in Gavin's chest brought him to a stop in the Dreaming. Second time tonight. Frowning, he looked around for possible sources, but found nothing.

Earlier, he'd been wandering the fringes on his usual, unproductive search for the Dreamweaver, when a weird, crackling sensation overcame him-like someone tuning in to a distant radio station, just out of range. It only lasted a few seconds, then stopped. He blew off the feeling as a Dreamsense blip.

Until it happened again.

Heat ignited his rib cage. Instead of snuffing it with Water, he took a big chance and tightened his concentration on the link between him and Scarlet. At this stage, he had little to lose. With some minute adjustments to the dial, he homed in on a few intermittent words.

Jackpot.

Much as he hated the unholy connection with Scarlet, tonight it might work to his advantage. He sat on the blackened dream beach, willing his racing heart to quiet, and eavesdropped on a one-sided dialogue.

"...Dreamweaver is safe and sound, all tucked in her bed."

Silence while the person on the other end of the conversation spoke.

"Don't worry about that. Her new guard proved himself worthy in the Dreaming. He claimed four Wyldling souls last night and six the day before. Add that Fire to your stores, and Incendius will glorify your name forever, Archelemental."

Holy f.u.c.king s.h.i.t. She was talking to Eidan! Finally, some information Gavin could use.

"n.o.body will find her, let alone get her to open the door. They'll never get past the-"

The connection severed as a ma.s.sive, unseen force violently yanked Gavin out of the Dreaming and chucked him back into his body in Realis.

He opened his eyes to blinding yellow light, itchy skin, and Dreamsense screaming in his ears.

"f.u.c.k!" He sat up, squeezed his eyes shut, and felt around the lounge for the blanket that must have fallen off him in the night. As soon as he found it, he wrapped the thick woven material around his upper right arm.

The raven gemstone on his necklace thrashed like a bird trying to navigate a hurricane.

What the h.e.l.l? His Air tattoos glowed bright enough to light a sports arena. Urgent voices down the hall propelled him to Whetu's room. He started to open the door, but something inside forced it shut.

Wind. s.h.i.tloads of it.

Gavin channeled Earth energy to his arms and pushed with all his might. Through the crack he opened, he saw books flapping their page-wings, riding invisible currents, smacking into walls. A swath of fabric-maybe a curtain-billowed, then swirled out of sight. The dizzying spin of a mad vortex hammered as loud and strong as a jet engine. He gave another shove. The wind grabbed the door and tossed it into the wall, denting the drywall.

It was hard to see with all the s.h.i.t flying around, but Gavin made out Whetu, sitting board-stiff in the bed, her hair whipping too fast to track. The streak of pink leaning toward her must have been Vexx. Gavin raised his uncovered arm to shield his eyes from the cutting dryness of the raging Air.

s.h.i.t. He could put an end to the insanity with a quick burst of Fire, but that would hurt both Vexx and Whetu.

"Gavin!" Zoe cried out behind him.

He reached back, and she latched onto him. There was nothing to do but close the door and hope Vexx got Whetu under control.

"Is Jack here?" he yelled over the maelstrom, lungs heaving.

Terror lit Zoe's eyes. "He, Byrn, and Jet are gone. What the h.e.l.l is going on in there?"

Gavin unwound the blanket from his arm enough for her to get a peek at the shocking yellow blaring underneath. She slunk back, squinting.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" she shouted.

He replaced the blanket. "Pretty sure Whetu's made the change."

Guiding her down the hall, he looked over his shoulder to the bedroom. When they got to the kitchen, he took her by the arms. "I'm gonna call Jack. I think it's best that you get out of here. It could be dangerous for you to stick around. I can handle the Aers."

"Okay. If the seas are calm, I'll head out on the Zodiac around seven o'clock. I have my phone. Please call me. I'm worried about Whetu." Her pleading expression tore at his heart.

He was worried about the girl, too, but for selfish reasons. This might be the break they'd been waiting for. That he was waiting for. "I'll make sure she's all right. As soon as I get this sorted, I'll ring you."

Eyebrows knotted, she nodded and grabbed her bag. The howling wind hit a crescendo, and the house's walls rattled. Zoe threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. "Be careful."

"You, too." Gavin kissed her hard.

The moment the door closed behind her, he jogged down the hall. As his hand reached the k.n.o.b, all fell silent.

"Jack?" Vexx's voice trembled.

Gavin flung open the door and strode into the room. It was sheer disaster. Books and magazine remains scattered over the carpet. The curtain rod dangled at a forty-five degree angle from its post. Drapes on the floor. Medical equipment ruined. A windowpane lay in shattered ruin, its shards sprayed across the room.

And there stood Vexx, shaking. If he hadn't known what had just gone down, he might have laughed. Half of her hair hung in a loose explosion of pink on the side of her head, the other half was barely contained within the rubber band she kept it in. Her eyes glowed lemon yellow. Same as the girl on the bed's.

He shot to Vexx's side and offered a hand to steady her. She fell into him, and he lowered her to the floor. "Take a deep breath."

Vexx tucked her head between her knees and did as he told her.

Whetu sat still as an owl from her perch on the bed. "What happened to me?" Her voice was small, higher in pitch than he expected.

Gavin braced a palm on the mattress and pushed up slowly. The blanket dropped from his arm. Thankfully, his tattoos lost some of their intensity. Whetu's gaze fell on the swirling birds, bells, and feathers there.

"You've transformed into an Aer Elemental." Instinct sent him reaching for her brow to see if she had a fever, but he stopped himself. No telling what was going on inside her head at the moment.

Whetu looked down at herself. Blood seeped through her gown at the site of her feeding tube, but her face betrayed no fear. Jet would have to take a look at the wound when she got back.

"Papa told me this would happen."

Vexx lifted her head. Her aura was all over the place-dark blue worry, reddish-brown fear, and not nearly enough yellow.

s.h.i.t.

"You gave her your Air, Vexx?"

"I had to. She needed it." She glanced at Gavin's necklace, then shifted her attention to Whetu. They stared at each other.

Whetu brought a fist to her lips. "I'm sorry, Vexx. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Vexx clasped the girl's free hand. Warm, sunny light emanated from the tangle of fingers. "I'll be okay. It's important we get you up and moving. We're racing to meet a deadline." Leaning against the bed, she winced then crawled slowly over to sit beside Whetu.

Gavin sat on the other side. The girl's aura blazed steady, primary yellow. Fresh from the transformation, she was a powerhouse of Air. Probably would be for a while.

"Your father said you would know how to get into the Dreaming. Do you remember?" Cautious about pushing too hard, but anxious as a kid on Christmas morning, he had to ask.

"I remember. Sort of. I was close to solving the puzzle when this" -she raised her arms- "happened."

Gavin scooted closer. Jesus Christ, if they could get the information out of her, the Sentinels could find the Dreamweaver, lock the door today, and keep the Fyres out for good. And he wouldn't have to worry about the oath anymore. "What sort of puzzle are you working on? Maybe Vexx could help."

"She has helped. I think the rest is on me now." Whetu lowered her head.

"She's not ready." Vexx spoke softly. "She's too weak from the change, and I can't give her any more Air."

Weak? The kid had f.u.c.king destroyed an entire room. How much more Air did she need?

The necklace vibrated again.

Of course. Gavin touched the fluorite raven, then unclasped the leather strap. He held it to Vexx. "If you can open the bird, the Elemental inside is yours. Do whatever it takes. We've gotta find that door."

Vexx accepted the necklace and nodded her thanks. Her fingers rubbed the pulsing bird, then touched the only other stone. The footprint. Face pale, she gasped and closed her eyes. After a moment of communion or some s.h.i.t, she worked the raven off and handed the lone footprint gem back. "This one's all yours."

Gavin c.o.c.ked his head. When the necklace tumbled into his palm, he felt nothing from it. No vibrations. No heat. No cold. Just a lump of rock. Yileen must have had some purpose in adding it to the collection of Elemental gems, but he couldn't for the life of him guess what.

Disappointed, he returned the leather to his neck and stood. "If you don't need me, I'm going to find out where the h.e.l.l Jack is. Are we set as far as the attacks go? Have you contacted the authorities about the bombs?"

"Yeah. We should be good. As soon as I break this chick out and refuel, I'll start monitoring communications. Cross your fingers all goes well."

They'd need a h.e.l.l of a lot more than crossed fingers. A well-timed miracle would be great.

But maybe the tide had finally shifted. Not only had Whetu emerged from her coma, but Gavin also had another tidbit of important information. Thoughts darted to events that had transpired in the Dreaming just before Whetu woke up. A tiny light of hope sparked in his chest.

Scarlet wasn't the only one with a direct link to the enemy. Now Gavin had one, too.

"What's going on with these whales today?" Adriene called to the front of the boat.

Zoe wished she knew. The humpbacks were on edge, agitated, restless. "Must be the crazy weather." That and something to do with the Elementals. She hadn't seen a single Waeter yet. Couldn't be a good sign.

Tomorrow was the equinox.

She scanned the lightning-filled sky from the bow, Dani and Elizabeth behind her, Adriene at the wheel. Not a drop of rain had fallen, but the air rumbled and crackled with hair-raising electricity. The seas were eerily calm.

Hands on her hips, Zoe sent her thoughts through the ocean to the whales ahead. Has anyone seen Lily?

Splashes disrupted the surface. One of the humpbacks lobtailed, and two others followed suit. Something happened last night. Lily and the other Elementals headed for sh.o.r.e, north of Urangan.

Chills seized her skin. What do you mean, 'something happened'? Was someone in trouble?

n.o.body said, but they left suddenly.

s.h.i.t.

Zoe pulled out her phone and dialed Gavin. When he didn't answer, an iceberg of dread sunk her stomach. She checked her watch. Noon. The Fyres' attack was scheduled to take place now. If things went south, Gavin was probably involved in clean up. She swallowed hard. Those bombs could have taken out millions of people.

She climbed around back to Adriene. "Can you check the news on your phone?"

"Why? What's wrong?" Adriene dropped her voice and glanced to Dani and Elizabeth.

"Nothing, I hope. Just check it for me, will you?"

Adriene whipped out her fancy smart phone and typed. Her eyes widened, and she held it up. "Breaking news. Looks like the police uncovered some kind of terrorist plot. Bombs discovered in every major city in Australia. Did you know about this?"

With trembling hands, Zoe took the device and scrolled through the news stories slowly. It was just as Sinnder had described. The exact locations he had mentioned. Bombs set to detonate at noon. No suspects.

Thanks to the police and government emergency services, no one had been hurt, though panic was evident in the tone of the stories. That would give the Fyres plenty to feed off, but it could have been a h.e.l.l of a lot worse.

Dani winged a curious glance to Zoe and Adriene.

"I-I can't talk about it right now."

Adriene laid a hand on Zoe's. "You're going to tell me what's going on when we get home. And explain why I feel like I'm being stalked every time I step out of Jack's house."

"You're being watched," Zoe whispered, lowering her head. "We all are. There's a guy keeping guard over the house to prevent another fire."

"Zoe, what have you gotten yourself into? Ever since Gavin came on the scene, I feel like we're living in a weird sci-fi movie. Iri's disappearance. Those three guys swimming beside the boat the other day. The research house exploding. Terrorist attacks. You talking to whales is mild compared to the rest of this s.h.i.t."

Yep, a sci-fi movie would be about right. "Gavin and Jack work for...an organization. I can't go into details, but their job is to protect people. That's all I can say."

Adriene crossed her arms. "So, this is some kind of government conspiracy? With whales?"

Zoe exhaled long and hard. "Yes. Sort of." It wasn't exactly a lie.

White light forked like a snake's tongue sampling the air, dangerously close to the water.

"I need to go back to the harbor," Zoe said.

"We just got here a couple hours ago, and we still have tags to attach." Adriene gestured to the ocean. "Randy won't like it."

"If he gets b.i.t.c.hy, I'll tell him the weather had me spooked." The black clouds above rippled with ominous electricity. "You have to admit, it's creepy as h.e.l.l out here."

"Okay. You're the boss." Adriene restarted the motor.

"Thanks. One day, when this is over, I'll tell you a story you won't believe." Zoe forced a smile to her lips.

"I'm sure it'll be a doozy." Adriene turned the boat around and headed toward the harbor.

Lightning increased on the ride home, carving open the dark sky and booming thunder so loud, it hurt Zoe's ears. Static electrified her hair, and her skin crawled. Was this a product of the Fyres' wrath at being discovered? Some sort of retaliation?

The sea remained virtually motionless, so getting to the dock took only about an hour. As they approached the breakers, Zoe's heart took a tumble.