Page 51 of Elemental Love
“Stay down,” Evrain whispered, his eyes returning to the confrontation taking place in the glade. “Gregory is facing down Symeon.”
Gregory had moved forward and now stood directly in front of Symeon.
“Go back to the hole you crawled out of, Symeon.” Gregory whipped up his hand and struck Symeon a stinging blow across the face.
In the stillness of the glade the sound of the blow echoed. Symeon staggered back in surprise.
Then Gregory laughed. “You are pathetic. Go home.”
“Oh, this is not going to be pretty,” Evrain muttered. Symeon’s features were frozen in fury.
Dominic struggled into a sitting position. “I really hope you have a plan, Evrain. Symeon looks like he wants to fry the entire planet.”
Symeon came at Gregory with ball lightning. Gregory lurched back, but raised a shield in the shape of a sheet of water. The lightning burst against it, sending sparks of electricity to earth. Symeon’s face twisted with rage at his failure. He stretched out his hand and a huge root erupted from the earth to wrap around Gregory’s lower legs like a boa constrictor. Gregory toppled, buteven as he fell, he shot fire at the root. It dissolved to ash and blew away in the mini whirlwind that Gregory sent toward Symeon.
Symeon screamed his frustration into the wind, which picked him up and carried him into the air.
“Symeon’s losing it,” Dominic said.
“Hmm, but not losing the fight,” Evrain replied.
Figures of mud rose from the ground and advanced on Gregory. He created a deluge of water and washed them away, but lost control of his tornado. Symeon fell to earth, stopping his descent with a cushion of air.
“The mud figures,” Evrain exclaimed. “There was mud on the garden gate after Grandma was killed. Do you think that’s how Symeon did it?”
The air cleared. Gregory and Symeon stood facing each other once more.
Coryn edged toward Evrain and Dominic. “We need a soundtrack,” he said, his face ashen. “I’m thinkingThe Final Countdown.”
“Wow, you’re showing your age there, Coryn. I think it’s time for me to do my thing, don’t you?” Evrain said.
“Wait, what ‘thing’?” Dominic shouted as Evrain disappeared into the trees.
“I’m going to eviscerate you, Gregory. Evrain is a coward. He should fight his own battles.” Symeon spat his vitriol. He raised a circle of fire around Gregory, the flames dancing high, roaring their intent.
Gregory’s gentle rain turned the flames to a curtain of steam. He darted away and Symeon followed. Gregory whirled around and attacked again, but not with magic. He grappled Symeon to the ground. They rolled and fought, sparks flying from their hands.
Evrain approached from behind, waiting for Gregory to show him that he was ready to put their plan into action. Evrain prayed that he had the strength to do what was needed. He didn’t dare glance toward Dominic as he channeled the immense energies coursing through his blood. His resolve might falter if he saw Dominic in pain.
Gregory broke free of the tussle on the ground and rolled clear. He gestured at the sky, and above his head a swirling orange cloud formed then broke apart, soaking him. Symeon surged to his feet, cackling with laughter at the sight of Gregory standing there, soaking wet, a bemused expression on his face. Evrain stepped forward into view. He focused all his concentration on the ground, feeling his way through the earth, seeking what he needed. Fire burst from the ground and he used the power of the wind to send it circling around Symeon’s form. Symeon was engulfed. He conjured a waterfall from the air but it did nothing to douse the flames. Symeon screamed as his clothes began to smoke and the ends of his hair caught alight. He tried to squeeze a cushion of air between himself and the flames but it just exacerbated the fire. Finally he tried earth, coating himself in mud. It offered some protection, but in his frantic attempts to protect himself Symeon forgot about Gregory.
Heat from the flames came at Evrain, searing his face. He lowered his head and kept his focus on his task. He had to give Gregory time to finish the fight. Gregory raised his hands and from each fingertip came a stream of light. All the colors of the rainbow came together to form a pinpoint of pure white. He pointed at Symeon and a spear of light, blindingly bright, struck Symeon square in the chest. Symeon screamed and writhed as light enveloped him, helpless beneath the onslaught.
Evrain extinguished his fire and collapsed to his knees. From the corner of his eye he spotted Damon sprinting across the clearing brandishing a knife. A flick of Evrain’s fingers ensuredthat he fell in an ungainly heap as the earth rippled beneath his feet. Damon staggered up. He ran away, abandoning Symeon to his fate.
“Enough!” Evrain shouted weakly after him. “This is over.”
Simultaneously he and Gregory relaxed and the glade returned to something like normality. Evrain rushed to Dominic’s side, propping him up with a strong arm around his shoulders and removing his bonds with a flicker of fingers.
“Are you okay?” Evrain wanted to touch and examine every inch of Dominic’s skin.
“Of course I’m not fucking okay. That bloody hurt!” Dominic turned into Evrain’s arms and hugged him hard. “You did it! You channeled!”
“Sorry,” Evrain said sheepishly. “The plan kind of depended on it. Was it bad?”
“Actually, no. It hurt, but not nearly as much as I thought it would.” Dominic melted into Evrain’s arms.
Evrain stroked his hair. “What the fuck have you done to this?” He tugged on a long red strand.
