WINDS (The Elemental Eye Book 1) Read online

  Looking at the body he did not take any particular pride in what he did. Sure he was proud of his skill and his abilities with fire, but he could be proud of what he could do while condoning what he did. The weight of the lives he’d taken sat heavy on him and not for the first time he remembered why he hadn’t cut it in the military.

  This is what they wanted from me.

  Nicholas wasn’t morally opposed to defending himself, but after his mother had died, he truly understood the weight of loss. Even for just one life.

  The gust of wind caught him square in the chest pushing him into the neighbouring wall. The aerokinetic man flew out of the room at a desperate speed. His hair flew around his face wild and untamed, a small fragment of lightning was quickly forming in his hand as he neared Manu. Dazed, Nick watched as with a motion of her hands and a gust of wind, the man’s trajectory was changed. The lightning fell harmlessly against the brick façade of the building as the man came to a sudden and complete stop. Hurrying to finish administering the much-needed first aid, desperate to stabilize the colonel as his condition worsened.

  The man turned slowly nursing the arm he had used to enforce his sudden stop. Fire lit behind his eyes as he watched Manu. Furious. He grimaced and motioned with his hands as the lightning began to form again in his palm. The strain on his body visible as he focused on the small intricate atoms that would coalesce and form the small, dangerous bolt.

  The ball grew bigger and brighter as the man focused, putting his strength on an obvious deathblow most likely aimed at the colonel. He chuckled to himself as it grew into the size of a melon. Basketball. The sheer voltage he was holding was unnatural, the wild hum of the ball caused all the hairs on Nick’s arm to stand on end and brought him back into the fight. He could feel the danger humming in the air and his attention coalesced on the danger at hand. Nick jumped to his feet, swinging his fist around in a wide arc. Nicholas stretched his will out and gripped the fire, his wild swinging motion reflected by the strange, fluid movements of the flames as they swung around catching the man, lifting him and slamming him into the wall.

  “This is turning into way more of a hassle than we thought huh?” Nick muttered turning to the wall. Closing his eyes, Nick pushed out his will feeling for the sources of heat inside the bar, stretching himself thin in the process. Nicholas was not particularly skilled at the finesse aspects of his Talents, being much more comfortable with the raw destructive power of he wielded with the flame. Inwardly working with fire was a whole other world, one that he did not care to meddle in. Learning to do what he could have been difficult enough. Still, some skills were useful.

  A man shaped cold spot sat hunched on the floor, struggling to get up. Nick could feel his arms moving lethargically across the floor. A second shape cowered against the back stockroom of the bar, hidden amongst the cold crates near a dark, whole box. Freezer. Feeling a migraine coming on, Nick forced himself to stop. Looking at the girl as she finished her last bits of work on the Colonel.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “Stable.”

  “Good. Time to go finish this.” Pushing the button in his earpiece he muttered. “Watch the Colonel.”

  “Roger. Manu, there’s two more inside. Let’s go get em.” With that, Nicholas stepped close to the threshold and the bar, seeking out his last two targets, bringing the barrels flame with him like a dog on a long leash.

  Chapter 6

  “Backdraft.”

  “Backdraft?!” Nick muttered, Manu nodding in response. “You know how much collateral damage that will do?”

  “We’ll contain it.”

  “How?” Nick asked, pleading the obvious.

  “Well figure it out. Let’s do it.” She hissed.

  “No. That’s crazy. You’re crazy. You really do want to kill me don’t you?”

  Silence.

  “Really? Wha did I-? Fine. You want to do a backdraft, you got it.”

  Nick motioned with his arms, focusing his will right inside the door. The long swinging gestures brought the swaths of flames flying from the barrel. Involuntarily, they stopped, settling right inside the doorframe. With a quick motion the flames began to dance, they swayed back and forth like dancers in a show. Seeking the oxygen they continuously burned out. The flames began to dim and the sweat began to form on Nick’s forehead. He could feel the wetness of his soaked through shirt underneath his armour and not for the first time he was worried about the casualties.

  Noise could be heard from inside the bar, words inaudible over the growing roar of the fire as Nick continuously added to the flames from their outside sources. A shadow loomed on the other side of the fire, waiting its opportune moment to cross the barrier. Impatient and irate, the golem took a step through the flame, causing several things to happen almost simultaneously.

  Manu pulled the stagnant air into the fire, overfeeding it a causing an explosion that shattered the golem’s stony carapace, sending him flying across the bar. Unfortunately the explosion went in all directions, catching Nick as well. He felt the wave of heat coming towards him. His attuned senses flaring as the fire hit him, his Talent taking most of the brunt heat, but the force still shot him across the alley and into the alley wall. Finally hearing an audible crack as his vision went black.

  Chapter 7

  Manu stood in slowly. The force and the heat had smouldered some of her armour. She had hastily put up a thin barrier of air between herself and the backdraft but it hadn’t done much against the heat. The front of her armour was a mess of melted plastic. Quickly removing all the outwear, skimming down to just her long-sleeved Armour-all shirt and leggings. Despite the damage she kept her boots on but she removed the earpiece.

  Fried.

  Where’s Nick? She thought, frantically looking around for the impossible man, finally spotting him as he lay in a heap against the wall, a small pool of blood forming around him. Oh no. He was right.

  She charged over, pushing two fingers against his throat as she checked for the pulse. It was still strong and from a quick once-over she couldn’t see anything that seemed desperately serious. Taking her phone from her pocket she quickly dialled 911 and dropped it on the floor beside the two men before she charged into the burning building.

  She stepped into the dive and noted the flames. Everything was ablaze, t he alcohol in the bar had spread through the floors and the backdraft had set t he ceilings on fire. It was spreading wildly with little hope of control. Thurston should hire a Torrent. Promising herself she would talk to him about it later, she continued deeper into the building. The man she took for the golem lay on the ground. Pieces of shattered concrete laying all around him, broken off from the blast.

  Cant’ leave him here. Rolling him into one of the unburned stretches of wood that she had sat down on the floor beside him. With a quick push of concentrated wind, she launched the man and the table skidding across the bars sleek flooring and out into the relative safety of the street. Eyeing the exit to make sure he had gotten out fine she saw the flashes of red and blue playing off the alley walls and knew that at least they would be taken care of for now.

  Reaching out to the wind outside, she pulled it into the bar. Wrapping the oxygen around her head and forming a quick source of air supply. She breathed it in, coughing as she finally realized how much of the smoke and haze she had been inhaling. She still had to check the rest of the bar for the other survivor Nick had mentioned. She forced herself forward through the haze and the heat to the storeroom behind the bar where behind a stack of piled up kegs, sat a mousey man with shrewd features. His glasses slid down his nose and he looked at Manu while tilting his head back. The movements speaking of familiarity.

  She motioned for him to move but he sat still, shaking his head. Rage quickly grew in the pit of her stomach as she continued the motions to no avail. The man sat there in the back of the room, staring at her. His eyes piercing and old. Maniacal.

  In fact, he didn’t look so bad. He seemed like a nice enough man to her. She moved herself between him and the flame, doing her best to bat away the smoke and the heat, sharing her air with him. Sneaking glances at him she realized that she really did want to protect him, a feeling of determination sat upon her gut as she forced herself to follow through. Although she thought this is what she wanted, she could practically feel his fingers combing through her mind. Scraping away the thick layers of memories and forgotten things she had buried deep in her subconscious. The blocks that had been set inside there long ago, sturdy and strong had begun to erode. To anyone watching her, they would have been able to see her irises had begun to swirl like a windstorm, but in the fire it had been hard to notice.

  “Manu! Manu!” the voice pierced the roar of the fire. Desperation and panic intermingled in a single shout of terror. Zeke. He turned around the corner and saw her standing protectively in the corner, battling the flames. “The building’s coming down, what are you doing?”

  “Saving him.” She motioned to the man, who still cowered. Even though her motions were determined and sure, her eyes screamed terror.

  Chapter 8

  Zeke watched in horror from his perch as the backdraft backfired. Flinging both Nick and Manu across the small alley. Manu instinctively had cushioned her body with the air around her but Nick had no such protection. He was out cold, if not dead. Although no part of him wished that the kid had passed, he was a strong member of the team. It was hard to find a Talent at his level.

  Sticking to his duties he watched over Manu through the scope of his rifle. Watching as she dialled a number on her phone, took off her armour and earpiece. Her dark brown skin and shoulder length, pitch-black hair playing off of the suit.

  Wow. Ezekiel thought to himself. But too young.

  Ezekie
l Lincoln Moore was easily ten years her senior. There was no way anything was ever going to happen between the both of them. Still, he wondered and wished. Maybe someday when age felt a little less like a constriction and more just like a number. That did not stop him from dreaming.

  Sighting on her face, he watched as she looked up and flashed a brilliant white smile. Her face slowly growing serious as she eyed the doorframe.

  Oh no. Were there still people inside?

  Zeke knew his team. If there were people in need of saving, Manu would charge in there undoubtedly. He watched as she gathered a large breath of air and raced into the flames as the flash of reds and blues played off the alley walls. Shouldering his rifle, Zeke ran for the door below. Long legs took the stars two, no, three at a time. Eating the distance in a matter of minutes.

  Approaching the door, he felt a subtle change in the air and out of the frame came a man sitting on broken ended table. The arriving paramedics quickly rushed to their side. Calling for backup when they saw the still bodies of the Colonel and Nick, sitting lifeless. Zeke barely heard their protests as he charged through the flaming doorframe in the direction Manu had gone.

  Nonononono, she’s been in there too long.

  The heat hit him first. It stole the breath from his lungs and while the smoke immediately caused his eyes to tear over, still he charged in. His sidearm drawn as his long legs moved, quickly carrying him into the bar as he screamed her name. The sound of gusting wind was clear over the chaos in the room and he followed it to what seemed to be the storage room. Moving slowly as he turned the corner, seeing Manu desperately fending off the flames. A battle she would only loose in time.

  He knew too much about those. Coughing scrambled him out of his phase, focusing him on the task at hand.

  “The building’s coming down. What are you doing?” he asked, puzzled until he saw the man cowering behind her.

  “Saving him.” She urged. Her eyes pleaded with him and he knew the signs. Psych.

  Dropping the gun, he raised his hands out in front of him and moved slowly towards the group, taking care not to make direct eye contact with the man.

  “We got to get out of here Manu.”

  “No, we need to get him out.” Out. Zeke caught the man barely facing him, mouthing the last words in silence. His lips barely moved but he understood the implications, still he tools another careful step forward. Carefully taking his time as he walked ever closer.

  “Stay back!” she shouted. “You’re going to get in my way.” Zeke saw the panic. She knew that her actions and powers were not hers to control. Easy. He thought. Easy. Doing his best to project passiveness and friendliness.

  “We’ll get you both out. Come on.” Ezekiel had seen this before. Her movements were odd and unpractised. Not the fluid motions of a Talent. Like someone was continuously attempting to do something while reading the instruction manual. It was good enough to fool someone who had not known her before, but t hat person was not Zeke. One-step closer, almost within reach.

  The man began to move, putting himself in clear view of Zeke who dashed forward and grabbed Manu’s holstered weapon. Shutting his eyes and looking away, Ezekiel squeezed the trigger, three thunderous shots boomed in the air, ringing loud above the crackling roar of the fire. Although Zeke had no confirmation, he knew they had met their mark.

  Opening his eyes he found Manu looming over the body, kicking it repeatedly with her steel toes. The damage becoming visible on the lifeless corpse. Ezekiel reached over and grabber her by the shoulder, her body visibly jolting out of its trance.

  “We got to go.” Ezekiel grabbed her hand and rushed towards where he had come in. He could feel the smoke in his lungs and knew how hard it was for him to breathe. Still he kept his face covered and rushed forward through teary, irritated reddish eyes. “Come on.”

  He turned to go towards the front door where two men kept moving their arms in long practiced motions. They wore fireman red. One of them stopping his motions to hand Zeke a tank of fresh air with a mask, strapping it behind his head and leading him out from the flames. Stepping out they saw the block was in pure chaos.

  Chapter 9

  Colonel James Thurston began to come through the haze. He opened his eyes to the sheer chaos of the street. An armourless Manu sat on the back of an ambulance with a blanket wrapped around her, holding a cup of something steaming while Ezekiel stood protectively over her.

  Only a matter of time those two.

  His head hurt terribly but he had felt and dealt worse. Moving to the paramedic wearing the dull yellow of a man with a Talent for healing. His face was visibly sweating as he attempted to bring the man covered in shards of stone back to life. Colonel Thurston was lost and obviously not in any danger, he was not in the man’s queue of patients. Looking around he couldn’t see Nicholas anywhere. A panic gripped him as he saw the dwindling fire inside the bar.

  Nick. His head screamed in pain at him, but he fought for control. Rushing over to where Manu and Ezekiel waited with apparent ease.

  “Report.” He ordered. His voice taking the tone and authority of a man used to having his commands followed. Ezekiel straightened up at the words and fell into place beside him.

  “Caught us off guard sir. You were blindsided by a dumpster. Lucky Manu was there to keep it from rolling over you.” Thurston’s eyebrows shot up at the casual comment. “I didn’t believe it either Sir. She flung it. It’s getting worse.”

  “Good God.” Thurston muttered indiscernibly to himself.

  “When are you going to tell her?” Ezekiel inquired. “She has a right to know.”

  “When she asks for it Ezekiel. She has not taken any interest or cared to know, I’m sure she will find out in due time of course.” He said, his words full of confidence and directedness.

  “Then she’ll resent you for it.” Ezekiel said, the words dripping with the unasked questions and concern.

  “So be it. Please continue.” They walked past the Fire-Control teams. Men in firemen red, stood with shotguns and sidearm loaded and ready watching as the Talents under their care fought against the flames. The armaments were different for each man depending on whom they watched and the double standard gritted against Thurston’s morality and reminded him again why he had left the military. You couldn’t expect someone to save your life and still treat him like half a person.

  The rules and restrictions brought into place by the Talented Registration Act were going to rip the country right in half. The man began to speak, breaking him out of his train of thought.

  “Nick was airlifted to the local M.D. He had severe burns. Pulled a backdraft with Manu to take care of a large golem that was impeding the door. There was a psych inside too, which explains why we had such a hard time tracking them down.”