Page 28 of The Elementalist
Wishful thinking. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what soulmate meant anymore. I did know that the girl sitting next to me had captured my heart unlike any other in all my life.
My weird Elemental, fire-starting, rain-creating, wind-blowing heart.
I sighed as I looked out over the great pit, where miners had spent years removing gypsum and iron ore and God knew what else. The mine, long since depleted, had been abandoned for years and sat like a scar on the Earth, a few miles outside of town. Funny, I had never thought of it as a scar before. Truth be known, I had had no feelings about it.
But now I did. Go figure.
Crystal had parked her car, a newish little sporty thing, next to my truck. She had arrived with two iced coffees, which I thought considerate of her. We made some small talk, and I gushed like a smitten teen. I couldn’t tell if she knew I gushed. Maybe she just thought I had a speech impediment. Maybe she noticed and chose not to react.
“So, now that you have me out here in the middle of nowhere, overlooking your bizarre idea of a scenic view…” Crystal sipped her iced coffee while watching me. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Vampires,” I said.
She nodded and continued watching from over her plastic cup. “I figured as much.”
“I met two of them last night. Figure they’re pretty old since they both dress like they haven’t quite gotten over the Fifties.”
“Derek and Piper, I assume.”
I glanced at her. “You assume correctly. How do you know about them?”
“You could say my family has a long history with them. Why do you bring them up?”
“Well, for one, because they are vampires.”
“Mr. Long, in this town, that doesn’t mean much.”
“What do you know of this town?” I asked.
“Nuh-uh, Mr. Detective Man. You tell me why you brought up those two guys first, and then I’ll tell you what I know.Maybe.”
I sipped my coffee, squinting at the strong sun warming my face. Michael said vampires could go out in the daytime, the sun only robbed them of the majority of their power. Still, creatures like that hated being weak and vulnerable, so they generally tried to avoid daylight—especially when they knew of a dangerous enemy nearby. I had to admit, I suspected Crystal might have been a vampire as well, but she didn’t give off any pungent hint of death. In fact, she still smelled good. Real damn good. With no perfume on at all, her fragrance contained hints of toothpaste, soap, and the sun-kissed skin of a girl with silky platinum blonde hair who liked the outdoors, probably as much as I did.
She’s no vampire. She’s too…clean.
I considered her proposal, then nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll tell you what I know, if you tell me what you know.”
“You might have yourself a deal there, partner.” She flashed a coy smile.
“Derek all but admitted to killing them.”
Crystal had been about to drink from her straw when she paused. “He said that?”
“Actually, yes. Worse, he seemed proud of it.”
“He’s always been a dick.”
“You seem to know him,” I said.
“I knowofhim through whisperings from my family. Remember, Mr. Long. I don’t live in town, and for the most part, I have been shunned. I am not privy to all their secrets.”
“But you know about the vampires?”
“All the Founding Families are aware of the vampire presence in the area, Mr. Long. Especially the Bradburys, the Farringtons, the Blackwoods, and the Wakefields.”
I knew of the Founding Families, of course. You couldn’t go anywhere in this town without hearing something aboutthem, or celebrating something about them. If ever a town existed that idolized its forefathers and foremothers, it would be Shadow Pines. For this being America, the locals sure liked to treat certain families like royalty. After everything I’d recently learned, the way everyone acted around them started to make sense—and for more reasons than those nine families having eighty percent of the wealth around here.
“Privy in what way?” I asked.
