Chapter 3
We arrived at what could only be described as a mansion. The two-story, gray limestone house looked like a small castle. The entryway was gated, with a circular cobblestone driveway surrounding a beautiful fountain just past the gate. Off to the right was an enormous garage that looked like it could hold ten cars. I guess with seven cars between them, they needed the space. Bryce parked in the third bay of the garage and got out. I followed his lead and walked with him toward the house. As we entered the two-story foyer with light gray marble floors, I was shocked by the grandeur of the house. In the back of the foyer, there was a stunning wooden staircase that led up to curved balconies on either side. There was a crystal chandelier that had to be at least fifteen feet tall. I would hate to be the one to clean that!
We veered off to the left and around a corner into the kitchen. It was a chef’s delight. There were white marble countertops with dark hardwood floors and beige cabinets. The island had to be at least ten feet long and four feet wide. The room looked massive, but felt cozy. Once I lifted my jaw off of the floor, I noticed that all of the guys were sitting around a large round kitchen table. Chase gave his usual glare before walking out of the room. I looked to the others and noticed that they looked intrigued and confused, but not menacing. Even the scary one, Harrison, I think it was, looked somewhat approachable. Well, as approachable as a hot, scary biker guy can look.
Bryce led me over to one of the chairs and I sat down. All of them were staring at me with strange looks on their faces. “Uh, hi again,” I mumbled.
Bryce started the discussion. “I guess Chase is not going to join us. Breanna, I am going to tell you some things that will sound crazy, but everything I say is true, okay?”
“I’m listening.” My heart was about to beat out of my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was afraid of what Bryce was about to say, or because I was surrounded by four really hot guys.
“As I told you before, we are Elementals. I am an Earth Elemental and can manipulate the earth. I can do little things like making plants grow larger up to creating small earthquakes. Mason is a Water Elemental, which means he can manipulate water. He is able to make the water do whatever he wants. Harrison is a Fire Elemental and Chase is an Air Elemental. Carter is an Animal Elemental. He is able to connect with animals and take on some traits of his spirit animal. We have a community of Elementals that is ruled by our King and his council called the Elders. Elementals have regular human jobs, like police officers, that help keep us hidden. We also have some in the government to keep an eye on things. All Elementals are trained at a young age to protect our people. Demons attack our community to steal our gifts and we fight them. Going to college and acting like normal humans helps us blend in. We thought you were an Air Elemental like Chase, but we can sense other Elementals and we cannot sense you. So that most likely makes you a witch or a demon.”
“A demon?” I yelled. “I am out of here. Bryce, please take me home. You are the hottest and craziest guys I have ever met.”
“Just wait a second,” Bryce said while laughing at me.
“It’s not funny. You guys are talking about controlling the elements, and demons and witches. You are insane. Please just take me home,” I pleaded.
“Calm down. Part of being an Earth Elemental means that I can sense dark magic and you do not have any inside of you, so you are not a demon. That would leave you being a witch, but witches are taught magic and usually have to do spells. You couldn’t have done what you did without someone teaching it to you or conducting a spell. So I don’t think you are a witch either. Have other unexplainable things happened before?” Bryce asked.
“Maybe,” I said, reluctant to elaborate. They all looked at me expectantly. “Fine! Things like that happen to me all the time. I remember one time when I was really young, I was swimming in the lake and I started to sink. I was sure I was going to drown, but all of a sudden I was pushed to the surface. I looked all around to see who saved me, but there was no one close to me. My dad was frantically swimming toward me, but he wasn’t near enough to get to me,” I admitted. “Another time, I got lost in the woods and it felt like the forest showed me the way back. I just figured I had a really great sense of direction, but if that was the case, I wouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place.”
“I have an idea, but I think we should test it out before I tell you,” Bryce said, looking like he was deep in thought.
“What do you mean ‘test it out’?” I asked warily.
“Just trust me. We won’t do anything that would harm you. I just want you to try a few things. This could tell us what you are. Mason, get a glass of water and show her what you can do.” Mason looked at him like he was crazy, but he proceeded to get up and get a glass. When he came back to the table, he looked at me and smiled. All of a sudden, Mason’s eyes seemed to glow and the water in the glass started to rise. The water rose out of the glass and hovered above it. It formed into a heart shape, then, just as quickly as it had risen, it sunk back down into the glass. At the same time, his eyes turned back to their normal ice-blue color.
“Wow! That is incredible and a little freaky,” I said.
“Thanks, Breanna! You should see what I can do with a pond or lake full of water!” Mason said proudly.
“I would love to see that someday. But please call me Bre. Breanna is only used when I am in trouble,” I said, smiling. Seeing Mason do something so amazing was wonderful. I couldn’t remember the last time I really smiled.
“Now you try it,” Bryce said. The others, including myself, looked at him like he was crazy.
“Bryce, you know only bonded Elementals can have more than one gift,” Carter interjected.
“What is a bonded Elemental?” I asked, curious.
“Bonded Elementals are Elementals that have bonded to each other and can now share gifts. Unlike human relationships, we usually have more than one life partner. Most of the bonded are groups of three, but I’ve heard of others that consisted of four or five members. I’m not sure if there are really five members, though. It could just be a myth,” Bryce said.
Shocked and probably a nice shade of red, I asked, “Are some of you guys bonded to each other then?” Hysterical laughter boomed throughout the room as each of the four guys started laughing so hard they cried. “Did I say something wrong?”
“We are not bonded to each other or anyone else,” Bryce said once he got his laugh-cry under control. “We have not found our bonded yet and all of us are straight.”
“How do you know someone is your bonded?” I asked.
Harrison answered, “You will feel a certain pull to them, like an attraction. Then, once you become intimate, you will begin to bond and show signs of being able to use their gift. To complete the bond, you have to be extremely intimate, if you know what I mean,” he said while waggling his eyebrows up and down. It was so cheesy and funny-looking coming from such a tough-looking guy, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He acted like I hadn’t just burst out laughing and continued with his explanation. “For example, if I bonded with a Water Elemental, I would be able to move the water in that glass. Right now, all I can do is catch it on fire.” And that was what he did. The glass of water that Mason had used before was now on fire and Harrison’s eyes were glowing orange.
“Oh my God! That is amazing! You guys are incredible! All I do is create chaos and destruction,” I lamented.
“I think you’re wrong,” Bryce said. “Try to make the water move.”
“Concentrate on the water and will it to do what you want,” Mason said.
I stared at the water in the glass and felt like an idiot. I tried to concentrate on it, but I was distracted by all of them staring at me. “Stop staring! I can’t think when you are all looking at me,” I said. They all looked away except Mason. He sat down beside me and said, “Just relax and only think about the water. Think about how cool and refreshing it is. Think about how it sloshes in the glass. Feel the movement of the liquid and how it flows.”
I relaxed by listening to his soothing voice. He should do books on tape. He has a wonderfully deep and flowing voice, kind of like water. Huh, makes sense. All of a sudden, the water started to move back and forth in the glass, slowly at first. It sloshed from one side to the other. It started to slosh back and forth, faster and faster. My heart was racing watching it move like that. How exciting! Then, bam, it flew out of the glass and all over Harrison. Oh shit! He’s going to kill me.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that!” I said. The guys, including Harrison, didn’t say anything. They just stared at me like I was an alien. I jumped up to grab a towel to dry him off, hoping he wouldn’t actually kill me. I handed him the towel and he took it, still staring at me. I looked around the table and everyone was still staring.
“What? Have you never seen someone spill water before?” I asked incredulously with my hands on my hips.
Bryce spoke up. “There has never been anyone that can have more than one gift before being bonded, ever. And your eyes glowed white, not blue like most Water Elementals. Let’s make sure you really are an Air Elemental, too, and not just a Water Elemental. We need to make sure what Chase saw was really air.”
“Let’s see if she can handle fire first. But since that is how you handle water, we should probably go outside to try this,” Harrison said, winking at me.
I understand why he is a Fire Elemental. He is making me melt with just one look. Good grief, I am such a cliché. But damn, Scary Biker Guy is scary hot! Focus, Bre!