The Chilling Change Of Air (Elemental Awakening, Book 3) by Nicola Claire Read Free Book Online Page A

with what little strength and courage I had left. "Let's talk."
    The Earth let out a wretched wail, the ground rolling beneath us with its force, that matched, I was sure, the agony inside my heart.
    And then it started raining.

Chapter 4
Here I Am
    Water ran in torrents through the gutters outside the small café's window, bits of twigs and leaves and trash washing away down the overflowing drains. Cars splashed through the puddles causing arcs of cascading spray to cover the few pedestrians who were brave enough to face the downpour.
    It hadn't stopped raining since the airport and it didn't look like it was going to stop.
    The Earth sighed; a sad, resigned sound.
    I was frowning when Aktor made it back to the table with a plate of sandwiches and two steaming mugs of coffee. The café was one on the main stretch of road in Newtown, slightly worn around the edges like the old weatherboard bungalows popular in this suburb. The coffee smelled good, though, and my stomach appreciated the sight of food.
    "Help yourself, Miss Eden. They are for you," Aktor advised, pushing the plate towards me and then stirring sugar into his coffee with a casualness that belied the tension filling the small space of the shop we were in.
    "You're not eating?" I asked, aware the polite conversation was a prelude to something much darker and sinister indeed.
    "I have eaten this evening, my dear. I dare say, you have not." He sipped his latte, unassuming hazel eyes staring at me from over the top.
    I picked at a sandwich, wanting nothing more than to eat one, but unable to stomach anything with this oppressive weight hanging over my head.
    "Why are we here?" I asked, alarmed to hear the warble in my voice.
    "To give Theodoros time to cool off," Aktor replied softly. "And for you and I to rebuild what was once solid and is now, I should think, quite unstable. We need each other, Cassandra."
    Oh, I hadn't heard that name for far too long. Theo's name for me.
    I blinked, picked up a sandwich for something to do, and took a bite. My stomach thanked me.
    "You know," Aktor said, looking out the window at the passing cars and pouring rain, "ever since he was young, Theodoros has never shied away from saying what's on his mind. I had admired it, until this evening. Thought it a sound quality to have in the cut-throat arena of Ekmetalleftis politics. He could so easily have been cowed by his father, but instead he grew a thick skin and the ability to speak his mind regardless of consequences." He sighed, the Earth mimicked him.
    "I would have thought some circumspection wouldn't have gone astray," I remarked, taking another bite of the sandwich. I still couldn't really taste anything, but the motion of biting, chewing and swallowing seemed to calm.
    "Indeed, and he has that ability when necessary. An ability that lets him pick and choose where best to speak his mind. Unfortunately, his world view is skewed right now, correct? He thinks you nothing but a stranger, and a threat at that. A Gi for all intents and purposes, who possesses Pyrkagia when she should not. Therefore we are subject to his verbal fits."
    "Verbal fits," I repeated numbly. That's one way to call it.
    "He will regret it, my dear. When he remembers. I'm simply helping to reduce that fallout by removing you from the scene until he calms."
    "Will he remember though?" I asked. Aktor just smiled. A sad, but hopeful one.
    "Back to us," he said instead of bolstering me up falsely. "I beg your forgiveness, Miss Eden. I pray you will see it in your heart to forgive an old man his impulsive actions. Actions directed by an old and weary heart. I could not stand by and watch as they tormented that young girl. She didn't have a hope in surviving that. She is not like you."
    Like me? I wondered just what he thought I was capable of. Right now it clearly wasn't much more than eating a plate full of sandwiches and feeling like utter freaking crap while I did it.
    I stared down at the near empty platter.