Windburn

The guards laughed and anger swelled through my chest. Slimy bastards. Vetch focused again and the power ran through him into the ground.

“Quicksand.” The words barely left my lips as the ground shifted. Peta leapt to the side as I leapt toward Vetch. His eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open as I slammed the haft of my spear into the center of his chest and drove him to the ground. Ribs cracked under the blow, the snap of bone clearly ringing through the air. He writhed as he struggled to catch his breath.

The Rim guards stepped up, surrounding me. The one on my left came at me first, his sword pointed at my chest. “Half-breed slut.”

I knocked his sword to the right, then slid my spear down the blade and sliced into his hand. He dropped his weapon with a cry. Spinning, I slammed the haft of my spear into his head, dropping him next to Vetch. The second Rim guard grabbed me from behind. “I’ll hold her. You two boys cut her open.”

His arms encircled me and tightened like a noose being slowly twisted. I didn’t fight his grip, but instead lifted my feet so he carried my whole weight. He stumbled forward—I was no tiny flower of a girl—and I spun my weight to the side. We slammed into the ground, me on top of him. A gust of air exploded out of him. One of his buddies lunged at me, sword aimed at my head. I jerked out of the way. The sword cut through the air where I’d been a quarter-beat before.

The crunch of bone and flesh being cracked told me all I needed to know; I didn’t turn to look at what had happened. The remaining two guards backed up as I stood. “You two sure you want to finish this dance?”

They looked at one another, shook their heads and took off.

“I didn’t think so.”

Before I had a chance to celebrate my victory, a blur of brown fur and the heavy scent of musk slammed into me. I tumbled through the ferns and bushes before coming to a stop against the side of a redwood. I tapped into the power of the earth and brought it up to me, prepping myself to use it. Vetch stood once more, panting with a hand clutched to his sternum.

He glared at me, and then pointed a shaking finger. “Kill her.”

“Vetch, this is a mistake.” I still wanted to believe he could be reasoned with. “Your mother was wrong; the half-breeds have a place in this world too.”

The bear rushed me, his fur rippling in the spots of sunshine that cut through the trees. His name was Karhu.

I sidestepped the first swipe of the brown bear. Barely. He roared, his lips rippling with the force of his battle cry.

I could fight him, wound him, and take him from Vetch. I could cut him apart and Peta would help me; I knew it in my gut. My eyes and his met.

Pain. Shame. Fear.

I swung the spear around and planted the haft into the ground, going to my knees in a choice that could spell my end. But I believed Spirit when it recognized the emotions flowing from the bear.

“Karhu, he does not deserve either of you.” I held his gaze. “He has forgotten you are a companion, a mentor, the one he should turn to as a friend and confidant. Just as my father forgot.”

The bear stopped and let out a grunt, his nose twitching. “What do you know of familiars?”

“Do you not know Peta? She has been assigned to me.” A part of me had assumed all familiars knew each other, seeing as how few there were.

The bear turned his head to look at where Peta and the husky circled one another. “A cat?”

“A long story,” I said.

The bear backed away. “This time, I will spare you. For the truth you speak. Hercules. Let’s go. Leave Vetch to his stupidity. The girl is right, he needs to learn our value.”

The husky turned his head and lifted his dark eyebrows. Peta swatted his ass with his attention off her, and sent him tumbling toward the bear. “Do as you’re told, mutt.”

Hercules bared his teeth, but followed Karhu into the forest.

Vetch shook with rage. “Then I will kill you myself.” He lifted his hand, lines of power coursing along his skin.

“Not this time.” Peta leapt at him, taking him down in a single blow. Her mouth clamped around his neck, her long canines breaking the skin. The thought in my head was crystal clear. Let her kill him. End that trial. Bella could take over as she had and we wouldn’t need Father at all.

A strange urge came over me to do that. Blood lust roared through me and I struggled to push it down, to keep myself in check.

No, that wasn’t me. Fear trickled with the blood lust. I knew what was happening. This was the result of using Spirit. This was the beginning of the price I would pay for using an Element destructive in its very nature.

“Don’t,” I said. “I have to believe he’s being manipulated by Cassava.”

Peta spat him out. “Doesn’t make him any less dangerous to you or the other half-breeds.”

Vetch lay panting on the ground. His green eyes widened as if he suddenly realized he’d been outmatched. “What are you going to do to me?”

That was the question of the day. “The dungeons will block him from his power, and from whatever manipulation laid on him. We could stick him there. Someone would find him eventually.”

I didn’t think his eyes could widen further. I was wrong.

“You wouldn’t dare. I am the heir to the throne!” he spluttered as he scooted away. Peta snarled.

“Shut up, this isn’t up to you, worm.”

Worm. Yes, that was what he was. The fact that he’d attacked me using the power of the earth said it all. He was not playing by the rules. We could try and drag him back to the dungeons, but he’d fight us and fight dirty.