Page 41 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

“I was wrong. You are fine,” Frost said dryly.

“Damn straight I am,” Gabby said, “now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.” She sucked in a deep breath and stood a little straighter.

“Then can we deal with this volcano now?”

“Abso-freaking-lutely.”

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Liam said as he looked from Gabby to Professor Frost.

“You’re not,” Frost told him. “Just go with it.”

“What do we need to do?” Gabby asked. She was ready to be moving. Moving meant she would need to think about things like tripping or falling into a big hole filled with burning lava. Standing still meant she had to think about the fact her soul was now forever joined with Liam’s.

“You and I are going to make the volcano erupt, but before that, Liam is going to use some of the moisture in the air to begin channeling a path down the mountain. Basically, we are creating a riverbed where the lava can flow,” Frost explained.

“I’m still stuck on the fact that we are going to make the volcano erupt … with us on it,” Liam said. “I’ve never been near an erupting volcano so I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure it never works out well for humans that are anywhere close to it … and it definitely doesn’t work out for those who are at the mouth of it.” His voice rose an octave as he finished speaking.

“Good thing we aren’t just human,” Frost said.

Gabby shrugged. “She has a point, I guess.” Gabby tried shaking Liam’s hand off of hers, but he was like one of those spiderwebs you walk into while hiking. He just stuck. “Alright, how do we blow this thing?”

“Oh, the things I could do with that question.” Liam sighed with a sly grin.

“I suggest you don’t. And, dammit, let go, Liam.” She barked at him and held up their clasped hands as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Can’t do that, beautiful. I might die.”

Gabby’s eyes widened and her gaze snapped to Frost’s. “Is that true? If I stop touching him, will he die? I thought the whole soul bonding was supposed to fix that. I’ve wrapped him in my fire like a burrito. What more do you want from me?”

“Sounds like something that would give me some fierce gas,” said Liam. “Let’s not call it a fire burrito. How about we say you’ve wrapped me in your love fire?”

Gabby wasn’t sure if she should laugh. Fire burrito did sound like something a person might buy off a shady taco truck. But she also wanted to slug Liam in the face. He was holding her hand hostage, and her traitorous hand liked it.

“Liam will not die if you stop touching him. He will die if he continues to provoke you, and I’m simply saying that out loud as a reminder to him,” Frost said. “As for blowing this thing, as you put it, we need to heat the lava even more.”

“Because lava that could melt you like candle wax isn’t hot enough already,” Gabby muttered. She turned and kicked Liam in the shin, hard.

“OW! What the hell, woman?” He jumped around, glaring at her.

Gabby smiled sweetly and held up her now free hand. “I can’t work my magic with both hands, if I don’t have both hands.”

“I won’t complain if you’re going to use both hands.” He winked suggestively. “But next time just tell me, babe. You don’t have to kick me.”

“Lies,” Gabby sang. “Kicking is the only form of communication you seem to understand.”

“Gabby, take your shoes off,” Professor Frost instructed, ignoring the conversation between Liam and her, which was smart. Listening to them interact was a surefire way to lose brain cells.

Gabby slipped off her shoes.

“Socks too,” Frost added.

Gabby took off her socks and stuffed them in her boots. The ground was warm beneath her feet, but that wasn’t what had her frowning. She could feel heat coming up through the ground and into the soles of her feet. “What the…” she muttered.

“What?” Liam was beside her in an instant. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? What do you need?”

“She needs you to tighten up the reins on those overprotective instincts flowing through you,” Frost said.

Gabby looked at the professor and saw that she, too, was barefoot. “Do you feel heat coming up from the ground?” Gabby asked her.

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