Page 1 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

Prologue

Refuge: Shelter or protection from danger or distress; a place that provides shelter or protection; something to which one has recourse indifficulty

Jax stood silentlyin the hospital room, listening. Not to the constant beeping of the machines all around him, but for any hint of the presence of a dark elemental. It was difficult to detect the faint signature of an insidious spirit dweller amid the incessant hum of electricity and bothersome machines surrounding him. Jax disliked machines. Entirely unnecessary in his opinion. Give him a beautiful mountain vista any day, far from the hustle and bustle that surrounded the lives of modern-day people. He was like most other earth elementalists in thatway.

When he was satisfied they were alone, Jax turned his attention to the broken girl lying beneath the scratchy white blanket. His disdain for modern technology paled in comparison to how much he hated the dark elemental that had brought him here, the one that had broken this poor girl and killed her parents. Jax hadn’t read the girl’s chart, but he could see at a glance she was in bad shape. She had a cast on one arm and a bandage around her head. The girl’s eyes were swollen shut, set in a face that was so bruised and misshapen it looked more like a bucket of rotten plums than ahead.

Thirteen years old. It’s never a good time to lose one’s parents. But thirteen… This girl would have to navigate the most difficult part of childhood with no one to guide her. He clenched his fists.The spirit who did this will pay.Jax would make sure of it. The academy would make sure ofit.

He didn’t yet know where the girl would live—in an orphanage, foster care, or perhaps with a relative—but he would find out soon enough. She was his responsibility now. And when she graduated high school, he would come for her. Then she would find out what really happened to her parents. Then she could do something about it. Until then, he could only wait and observe, quietly protecting her from the unseen war raging aroundher.

He stepped closer to the bed and glanced around to make sure they were still alone. He placed a calloused hand, hard as stone, onto the girl’s shoulder. “Mother Gaia, hear my prayer. A servant of your body needs you now,” he whispered. Several moments of silence passed then Jax began tochant.

“Pebble, rock, boulder,stone,

The power of the earthalone.

Strength of granite, grace ofjewels,

Minerals, crystals, and gems are yourtools.

Bedrock, rise, work through myhands.

Grant this youngling the protection of yourland.”

He felt a low rumble beneath his feet as the earth’s power traveled from the depths of the ground and up through the building to where he stood. It entered his body through the bottom of his feet and traveled upward. Jax’s heavily muscled frame became rigid, momentarily hard as granite as the elemental power flowed within him. It moved to his arm and down it, flowing from his body into the girl’s shoulder. The girl’s skin, pale from loss of blood, began to change color. First, her entire body became a dull tan, the color of soft Mississippi mud. Then it became burnt sienna, the color of an Arizona mesa. Next, it mottled and speckled like a vein of marble running through bedrock. Finally, it smoothed and became iron-grey before returning to its previous ashen hue. He thought about using his power to mend some of the girl’s wounds as well. He wasn’t great with soft tissue, but he could mend a bone in seconds, not only healing the fracture but making it much stronger than before, infusing the metals of earth directly into the marrow. But miraculous healings tended to invite questions. And questions were the last thing this girl needed right now. She was safe and she would recover. That was enough. He’d simply have to let nature take itscourse.

“That’s the best I can do for now, little one. Sleep well. And may Gaia protect you,” he saidsoftly.

With one last look at the girl, Jax turned and took a few steps toward the door. There he hesitated and turned back. The machines still beeped. The girl did not stir. Jax shook his head and released a labored sigh. He would find the dark elemental before he traveled back to the academy. He’d capture it, rip it limb from limb, and break it like it had broken the human in that hospital bed. It would feel good, but it wouldn’t bring this young one’s parentsback.

Jax wished he could take the girl to the academy right now. It was a better place for her than out in the world. At the earth academy, she could be surrounded by people who understood her, who had all suffered the loss of their parents. There she could be protected, taught, and shaped into a ruthlessNatura Venatoriwho took no pity on the darkelementals.

But rules were rules. Once a human found out about the spirit world, their powers would begin manifesting. And the elemental kings and queens had long ago decreed that children simply weren’t ready to handle that kind of power. Jax could agree about wind and water. Those humans attuned to wind and water were too flighty, too changeable. Fire … maybe they could handle themselves when pressed. Fire was the only other elemental school to which Jax gave any respect. But their power still paled in comparison to that given to the students ofearth.

So, Jax would have to wait to begin this young one’s education. Still, he was certain he would get the chance someday. She didn’t belong to the other schools. No way. He was sure this girl was attuned to the earth. He had a knack for sensing these things that was legendary among his fellows. To date, he’d never misidentified an elemental attunement within a human based solely on the feeling of the aura alone.Yes, this young one is earth through and through.A future lady of iron. He nodded, content in knowing she would one day be a powerful warrior of the earthacademy.

He spoke to the girl in the hospital bed again. “I’ll return soon enough, Tara Thompson. Then you will understand who you reallyare.”

Chapter 1

Two months after theaccident.

“I don’t intendto take the place of your parents, Tara.” Thirteen-year-old, newly orphaned Tara Thompson heard the woman speak though she barely registered the words. And she scarcely felt the woman’s hand upon her shoulder. “I just want to take care of you. This is a safe place for you. Consider my home your refuge. Do you know what a refugeis?”

Tara didn’t respond. She had little energy to do much more than breathe and simply survive. The world as she knew it had ceased to exist when she’d awaken from the coma. She knew she had been in a car crash, though she couldn’t remember any details about it. Not long after she awoke, some woman from social services had told Tara her parents had been killed. Nothing made sense anymore. The person she thought she was becoming was suddenly gone. Tara was a thirteen-year-old girl who had everything one minute and nothing thenext.

“A refuge is a place where you can retreat. It’s a safe place where you can decide how to move forward. Let yourself fall apart and, when you’re ready, you can begin to rebuild,” Carol said gently. “This is your refuge, Tara. There is no time limit. There are no rules on how you grieve the life you once had, other than you aren’t allowed to hurt yourself or anyone else. A refuge is a place where violence cannot exist.” She paused, and Tara could practically feel the concern and care coming from thewoman.

Finally, after several quiet moments, Carol said, “Three months ago, you were a girl with a family, a future, and a general idea of what your future looked like. In one night, one horrific night, that changed. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be devastated. It’s okay to feel lost. What isn’t okay is to stay in those places forever. A refuge is a starting point. A place where you can gather yourself before you start your journey forward. When you’re ready, I will do everything I can to help you begin thatjourney.”

Tara’s heart beat painfully hard in her chest as the reality she constantly tried to push away crashed over her like a turbulent wave.Tears tracked down her face, but she didn’t wipe them away. Her mom once told her that tears were cleansing. They were God’s way of allowing us to wash away the hurt, anger, and pain. If her mom were still alive, Tara would have told her mother she didn’t know what she was talking about. Tara had cried countless tears, and nothing had been washed away. If anything, the tears just brought more tears. The pain was so much more intense when she cried. She hatedit.

“What if I’m never ready?” Tara asked after sitting next to the older woman for a fewminutes.

“Your life was spared for a reason,” Carol said. “There is something you are meant to do, and I doubt it is to sit in a room for the next seventy years grieving. Don’t waste your purpose. Your parentswouldn’t—”

Tara jumped to her feet as she turned to face the woman. Her fists were clenched tight, and tears blurred her vision “You don’t know what my parents would want so don’t you dare pretend to know!” Her words came out through gritted teeth as she fought the urge to scream. Tara didn’t want to scream because she honestly didn’t know if she’d be able to stop once she started. She felt if she opened her mouth and let out that first soul-bearing sound, then there would be no end. It would be like breaking a dam on a river that was fed from the ocean.The destruction would be devastating. So, she kept her jaw locked tight, only allowing enough movement to form the words sheneeded.

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