Page 30 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

“He’s totally not sorry,” Shelly muttered as she hugged her stunned parents. “I’ll be in touch. I’ve got my phone, and I’ll make Ra portal me here when we can.”

Her mom looked relieved, and Shelly wanted to kick herself for not pointing those two things out sooner.

Ra took her hand, and she followed him over to the portal that Aviur had already stepped through. Tara hugged Shelly’s parents, and Shelly saw tears in her best friend’s eyes. She hadn’t thought about how it might be hard on Tara to see them, considering she hadn’t known if she’d have to eventually tell them their daughter was dead. She turned and looked at Carol one last time. “I love you, Mom.”

Carol smiled as she wiped the tears from her face. “And I love you, daughter mine.”

With one last smile at the three of them, Shelly stepped through the portal. She saw her mom reach out for her, and her dad wrap his arms around her mother. “They will be all right,” Ra assured her.

She knew they would, but she wished she could spare them any more pain and worry.

When the portal closed behind them, Shelly saw Tara turn into Elias and press her face to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear. “You will see her again, love.”

Shelly agreed with him, but she wondered what hell they would have to face before that day came.

Chapter 8

Gabby stared up at the huge mountain where she stood at the base with the rest of her team. Okay, so it wasn’t a mountain. It was a freaking volcano. And by the rumblings under her feet, it was pissed off.

“Now that’s a sight,” Liam said from beside her.

“That,” Professor Frost said, “is Mauna Loa. It covers half of the island of Hawaii. It is also one of the most active volcanoes in the world.”

“That's fantastic information and should I ever need it for a report, it will absolutely be included,” Zuri quipped, “but I don’t think it’s the information that they need.”

Gabby looked at Frost, wondering if she was going to bite the earth elementalist’s head off for the smart remark. She didn’t. Instead, she shrugged and said, “You’re right. I just like interesting facts and frequently share them.”

“What information do we need to know?” Liam asked just as the ground rolled beneath their feet, sending Gabby stumbling into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against his body.

She forced herself to ignore the way the warmth from his body seeped into hers. Liam’s breath on her neck sent chills down her spine. The instant Gabby found herself leaning back into him, desiring more of his touch, she lunged out of his arms. She didn’t give a damn if she fell flat on her face. It was better than him realizing she desired him. “No, I don’t,” she muttered under her breath and straightened her clothes.

“Everyone okay?” Professor King, who stood unfazed, asked.

Gabby frowned at him. How had he remained still when the rest of them had been tumbled around like a soda can with a warped bottom? She felt like an idiot when she remembered he was an air elementalist and had most likely used his power to control the air around him. He’d probably had the wind raise him off the ground, even if only a little. It would have kept him from staggering.

There was a chorus of “I’m good” and “No problem” in answer to his question.

“As you can see,” Zuri began as she looked at Liam, “the volcano is even more active than usual.”

“Why?” Gabby asked as she looked again at the top of the mountain in awe. There was a loud explosion and then a burst of red and orange lava flew into the sky.

“Because of the unstable temperature in the earth’s core. It’s causing the volcanoes around the world to be even more temperamental than usual,” Zuri explained.

Liam rubbed his hands together, his eyes filing with the eagerness of a little boy about to get into some serious trouble.

“What’s the plan?”

“I’d say a good start is to keep the island from burning to ash,” Josie, the water elementalist female and soul bonded to Miles, said.

“That is the ultimate goal,” Professor Frost agreed, “but we are each going to have to use our specific power, in tandem with one another, in order to make that happen.”

Mauna Loa suddenly exploded again, and the ground rolled. Gabby was ready for it this time and managed not to fall into Liam’s arms. And she totally wasn’t disappointed about it. Not at all.

“This is going to be dangerous,” Frost said looking at Liam.

“What she’s trying to say is, if you do something stupid you are going to die,” Zuri told him dryly.

Liam held up his hands. “Dude, I don't want to die. Stupid is behind me.” He glanced at Gabby as he added, “I got too much to live for these days.”

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