A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) (24 page)

“Home.”
Mindy said, and in that one little word, she gave an encyclopedia of
expression.

Raven
shook Wayne’s hand, thanking him.  Jade was already helping Mindy get her
seatbelt on.  Jade slid in and closed the door.  She’d escaped without Wayne’s
examination.  Raven took the passenger seat. 

They
were all surprised when Aunt Bertha hobbled right up to Wayne and stuck out her
hand, “Thank you, young man, for taking care of my kids,”

Wayne
took her hand.  Bertha felt the electricity and let him study her.  She gave
him a little extra, though, something to think of.  She was a tricky one. Her
gift didn’t normally come in terribly handy.  It was the gift of nothing, of
space, of vacuum.  But oh, it was so close to Time. 

This
Bertha knew well, having been close to the carriers of Time her whole life. 
Keepers typically handled the male side of the Universe while Elementals
handled the female, but Bertha’s gift usually passed down on the male side. She
was an anomaly. 

Wayne
paused.  Flustered, he stuttered, “You…”

Bertha
pet his shoulder, “Yes, me.  You keep your Keepers to themselves, and bring my
niece back. She’s got four girls to raise.”

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wayne said, his face a few shades redder
than before.

“Well,
when you figure it out, I’ll be waiting,” Bertha hobbled back to the car,
barely able to open the door on her own.

She
just set herself up, in a big way, but her girls would be protected.  The way
the Keeper had been eyeing Jade, Bertha knew they’d send a stealth team to grab
her. Not now.  Now they had Bertha to contend with…and her gift would scare
them enough to buy her girls some time to grow in their powers.    

Bertha
put the car into drive with a deep sigh.  There was so much to do.  She would
have to fill out a missing person’s report on Amy as well as figure out the
insurance on the van.  Jade would need a thorough spiritual cleaning to make
certain no remnants of vampire remained. They would hang the windows with
garlic and sage, but from what the Elements were telling her, vampires wouldn’t
be a problem for the girls. Bertha made a mental list while she drove. 

No
one was happier than Bertha when hours later the car finally wended its way up
the little driveway that was home.  Claire was still fast asleep when the girls
arrived. 

One
thing about wrecking the van…there was nothing to unpack.

The
girls showered and changed.  Bertha made them scrambled eggs and toast. Jade
read Amy’s letter a few times and then handed it to Raven to read.

Mindy
started crying softly when she saw her teddy bear sitting on the bed waiting
for her.  Claire was fast asleep in her own bed, and Mindy knew enough not to
wake her, so Mindy left the room to find Jade.

Jade
was getting ready for bed.  She was brushing her teeth and cleaning up her room
a bit.

“Claire.
Claire.” Mindy said and held up her teddy bear so that Jade could see.

“Did
Claire bring back Pebbles for you?”

Mindy
nodded.

“I
bet she loves you very much,” Jade said, teasing Mindy’s hair out of her face.

Mindy
smiled.

“Come
on, I’ll get you tucked in,” Jade said, stopping at the bathroom to wash out
her mouth and throw her toothbrush in the holder before getting Mindy settled.

The
house was quiet.

Bertha
smiled. 

Her
girls were safe.

*** The End***

Author’s Note

If
you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help authors
qualify for great advertising venues.

Although
some of the settings in this novel are real, many of them are fictionalized. 
As far as I know, there is no such town as Wildwood Springs in Washington State.
I wanted a tiny town in the mountains for my Elementals to grow up in, one
where I could control the size and the buildings and everything else.  

Day
Soldiers is a real book about vampires and a personal favorite with non-stop
action and a bit of humor.

A
Time to Die
will be out soon.  Please read on for the opening chapters.

If
you’d like to hear about new releases, they will be available by newsletter.

 
Jeanette’s
Mailing List

Excerpt from Book 2 of the
Elemental Rage Series:  
A Time to Die

Chapter 1

~~ Jade ~~

Jade detested
school.  At least English class was tolerable.  She slid into her seat and
pulled out her laptop. Everyone was chattering or on their computers.  Jade
just wanted to be alone, to stop the noise.  Everything felt so loud.

Closing her eyes,
Jade heard the screams again.  Maybe she needed a shrink.  It was seven years
ago since she had accidentally killed her Dad, but somehow she’d manage to
block it out.  Until last summer.

A hand slapped the
desk in front of her. 

Jade jumped.

“Wake up, Pippi.”
Danika’s perfume filled the room.  She wore a bemused expression on her face,
standing over Jade while she waggled a finger painted to perfection in hot
pink.

The class roared
in laughter.

Jade flushed.  She
lifted her eyes to meet Danika’s, her jaw jutting out.  Just once she wanted to
punch Danika hard in the face.  Just once.

 Fire agreed.  But
Fire wanted more.  Fire’s voice whispered,
She should burn.

As the most
unstable of the Elements, it took a strong-willed Elemental to guide Fire. 
Very few Elementals were born with a gift for Fire, and those who did sometimes
died tragically young in mysterious blazes. Aunt Bertha had explained it
all…several years too late.

Jade calmed Fire. 
It wouldn’t do to have Danika’s hair suddenly burst into flames in the middle
of English class.  She narrowed her eyes at Danika, “Maybe you should work on
those burrs.”

Danika raised an
eyebrow.  This was new.  Usually Jade turned a thousand shades of red and
shrank away while the class laughed.

She said, “Burrs? 
What are you talking about?”

“I can see why
you’d be so unpleasant having them shoved up your…”

At that moment Mr.
Tanner strode into the classroom.  The class tittered and Jade maintained eye
contact with Danika, a staring contest that she decided not to lose.  In the
past, she always looked down, down at her hands, down at her lap, and Danika
would walk by with her nose in the air like God’s gift to the world. 

“Wow, Looks like
Pippi grew a pair,” Danika flipped her hair back and pushed by Jade with a butt
wiggle in Tom’s direction.  He was always ogling Danika.  Her short skirts
encouraged it.

Jade took a deep
breath and counted to ten.  When she was still angry, she made a list of all
the reasons she was smarter than Danika.  She couldn’t say prettier, as much as
she wanted to.  Jade was realistic about her own prospects.  With long
reddish-brown hair, a strong nose and jaw line, and a tall figure, Jade
couldn’t compete with Danika’s perky nose and huge eyes set in a perfectly oval
face.  Danika had a classic beauty that she used to full advantage.  Jade
had…nothing.

First period
ended.  Finally.

Nothing terribly
exciting happened through second period either.  Danika was back again in
Chemistry during third period.  That was the worst thing about a small school. 
You had class with the same group of people over and over and over.  The kids
destined for college might take the tougher classes while the kids destined for
other things ended up in remedial classes, but for the most part, Jade had to
spend the day listening to Danika and her three besties blather on and flirt.

Jade felt that
sick thud in her stomach when Ms. Hunt said, “We’re going to choose Chemistry
partners.  You’ll be partnered for the school year.”

It really hurt
being unpopular.  Jade dreaded the moment when Ms. Hunt said, “Divide into
pairs.”

The moment never
came.  Instead, the teacher started reading pre-assigned teams.  The class
groaned as a whole, but Jade could only feel the weight of sweet relief wash
the tension out of her shoulders.  Maybe Ms. Hunt understood.  She was a mousy
woman with thin features and long, slender fingers.  Her hair was completely
white, although for some reason she curled it and teased it as if she was still
stuck in the eighties.  With oversized cardigans and long skirts, Ms. Hunt was
certainly unique.  Jade liked her for it.  The rest of the class might make
hurtful side comments, but Jade felt a bond with the teacher who had to suffer
the same unpopularity that she herself felt.

Ms. Hunt might
have a mousy face and small, round body, but her voice boomed.  As she read the
list of names, Jade held her breath. 
Please not Danika. Please not Danika.

No one was more
surprised than Jade when Ms. Hunt said, “Jade, you’re with Zach. Second row,
middle.”

Jade grabbed her
backpack and snuck a glance at Zach.  He grinned at her with real warmth.  For
a moment, she was surprised and then she smiled back. He was cute.  Grey-blue
eyes that changed with the clothes he was wearing and a casual ease that didn’t
care what anyone else thought.

It was probably
the first real smile she’d had in a month.

They would be
partners for the year, Zach and Jade.

Jade’s finest
moment came at a time that could have been humiliating.  She wasn’t a clumsy
person by nature, but as she set her vial in the refrigerator, another team’s
vial fell.  She picked up that vial and set it down, only to have two more
fall.

Zach noticed and
started laughing.  He said, “Here, let me try.”

Jade stepped back,
and Zach picked up one of the fallen vials.  He very gently placed it on the
rack.  With a superior grin and an infectious smile, he lifted his hands, “See?
It just takes a steady hand.”

Jade giggled.  She
wasn’t normally a giggler, but Zach somehow loosened the tightness in her gut
that made school feel dreadful. He reached for the last vial lying on its side
and ever so carefully righted it.

Another vial fell
in its place.                                                                                          

Clapping her hand
to her mouth, Jade exploded in laughter.  Zach couldn’t help himself, he did a
little dance and after a gale of laughter said, “Now, I’m really serious. This
vial will not beat me.”

As his hand
approached the vial, he was laughing so hard his hand shook. Soon he and Jade
were holding their sides, laughing so hard that tears were running down their
cheeks. “What’s going on over there?” Ms. Hunt had given them a minute of
laughter, but apparently they’d made a spectacle of themselves.

Jade said,
“Nothing, Ms. Hunt.”

Zach said, “We’re
having trouble getting the vials to stand at attention.”

Zach reached in
once more, his eyes still gleaming and gently placed the last vial and this
time, the vials all remained standing.

Jade wanted to say
something to Zach, but she had no idea how to say it.
Thanks for not being a
jerk? Thanks for not making fun of me?
No.

The moment passed
and Zach quickly avoided any awkwardness by referring back to the experiment. 
Jade couldn’t believe how much fun Chemistry had been. It would have been
perfect, but as they were leaving class, Danika said to no one in particular,
“I heard that Jade’s father died under mysterious circumstances.  Stabbed and
burned alive.  Maybe her family is mafia or something,”

Zach heard and
turned to look at Jade.

She didn’t know
what she saw in his eyes, sympathy or condemnation. 

Jade buried her
bitter anger and walked quickly to her locker.

~~ Raven ~~

Raven looked hot
in her leopard print dress with black leather boots. Her makeup was light,
eyeliner and lip gloss, but it was all she needed.  If only she didn’t have
that scar along the top edge of her cheek, she would be a top ten. 

At lunch Raven
hung with her usual friends. Of the group Shelly was her best friend.  It was
painful to watch her sister grab her food and go outside. Last year Raven
looked away when her sister looked desperately in her direction during lunch
time.  This was the first day that Raven had really seen Jade in the lunch room
since school started.  Pushing up from the table, she said, “I’ll be right
back.”

She caught Jade at
the end of the line, “Hey, come sit with me.”

“Are you sure?”
Jade felt like a leper.  Her sister wasn’t the most popular kid in school, but
she certainly wasn’t unpopular either.  Shelly was a bit of a stoner, but they
had a mix of smart kids and jocks in their group, all in Raven’s class, of
course. Raven was much more popular than Jade.

Raven shrugged,
“We’re sisters.”

Jade wondered if
the Universe had tilted on its axis.  She was actually having a semi-decent
day, if you discounted Danika’s regularly-scheduled nastiness. She followed
Raven to the table.  There was no need for introductions.  In a small school,
they all knew each other, even if they didn’t speak on an every-day basis.

There was an empty
seat next to Jade.  She was even more surprised when Zach brought his tray to
her table and asked, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Raven waved a
hand, “Be our guest.”

Jade didn’t even
manage a squeak.  Raven wondered that her sister ever survived as long as she
had.  She was such a straight-laced prude and much too shy for her own good. 
She couldn’t wait to grill Jade on the hottie when they got home. 

Zach was clearly
interested in Jade…and Raven would bet a hundred dollars that Jade was
completely oblivious.

Shelly got to
talking about a cool out-of-town party on Saturday.  Raven seriously wanted to
tell her to shut up until class.  Raven shared a room with Jade.  Sneaking out
was hard enough when Jade wasn’t expecting it.

“Did you hear
about the couple they found murdered in Port Siena?”  Shelly leaned forward,
her voice a loud whisper designed to carry to the ends of the table while yet
invoking mystery.

Zach looked
decidedly uncomfortable.

Jade couldn’t
remember hearing anything about it.  Of course, she had no time for the news.

Mike answered,
“The rumor is the couple were husks, like something had cleaned them out from
the inside.”

Raven nudged Jade,
her eyebrows raised. After their last brush with the supernatural, she was more
than interested in what might have killed the family.

Jade shrugged.

Raven sighed.  She
thought Jade would have heard something from Aunt Bertha.  She had been relying
more and more on Jade lately.  Raven figured Aunt Bertha knew everything
supernatural that happened on the west coast.  She surely would have heard
about that. Raven couldn’t wait to get home and ask what was going on.  Not
that she wanted to go on a monster-hunt, but she
did
want to know what
was lurking two towns over.

At least Aunt
Bertha was a deep sleeper these days.  Since the summer she hadn’t been sitting
in her chair once when Raven attempted to sneak out.  Raven would definitely
sneak out for the party on Saturday night.

~~ Bertha ~~

Bertha thanked the
doctor and picked up her cane.  Her back was on fire, but now it had a name. 
There was a finality to the moment.  Bertha would never see this doctor again.
The first in a string of lasts.

“Thank you,” 
Bertha hobbled out of the office, thinking how odd it was for her to thank the
doctor for her death.  Metastasize. What a horrible word.

The weight of the
diagnosis fell on Bertha like a giant stone. She didn’t have the strength for a
prolonged fight anyway. At eighty years old, she was past chemotherapy. The
cure would kill her as fast as the disease.

As she reached for
the car door, she dropped her cane.  Bertha felt frozen.  She didn’t think she
had the strength to bend down and pick it up.  She had been great at ignoring
twinges.  With her sister’s death and niece’s disappearance, it was no wonder
she pulled a muscle in her back…or so she thought last summer.  But that’s not
what happened. 

What would she
tell the girls?

Bertha leaned
against the window of the car.

“Ms., Are you
okay?”

It was one of the
nurses, a sweet young thing, probably older than she looked.  Everyone looked
like a child to Bertha, even men with gray hair. She straightened, “I seem to
have dropped my cane.  Would you be a dear?  I can’t bend like I used to.”

Just like that the
cane was back in her hand.  Such a simple thing for a stranger. The woman
helped fit her keys in the door, “Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”

Bertha thought of
Jade.  If she called, Jade would wonder what she was doing in front of St.
Luke’s Center of Oncology.  “I’m fine. Just dropped my cane.”

As Bertha buckled
her seatbelt, she wondered just how long it would take.  The doctor said six
months.  That was, Bertha supposed, a reasonable guess.  The body did what the
body would do.  Maybe she had a lot of fight in her.  Maybe she could drag it
out a decade, go into remission, or maybe…

Who was she
kidding?  Her hair was white.  Her skin had turned into parchment over the
years.  She had gotten old. She would die of something sooner than later. 

She had to tell
the girls. 

Bertha drove the
sixty miles home.  The nearest hospice was sixty miles from the little town of
Wildwood Springs as well.  Picking up the prescription in town at the small
store that housed the pharmacy, Bertha was glad for the laws that prevented
talk.  In a town like Wildwood Springs everyone was in everyone else’s
business. 

She hobbled around
like everything was fine, greeting the folks in town with a smile while she
picked up a few things.  Then she drove out to the lonely house in the gully
near the woods where the creek burbled and the breezes played, where any
Elemental would feel right at home.

Fire and Earth had
finally awakened in the girls.  All four girls carried their element.  It was
time for a Spirit Walk.  Bertha didn’t know if she was up for it.  She really
should have done it before the end of summer.