The Elementals by Annalynne Thorne Read Free Book Online Page B

"That's not fair!"
                "Shhh," Terra hushed. "Go to bed."
                "Please….”
                "No."
                Era squeezed her hand. "Go on, we'll tell you everything in the morning. We'll wake you up when we come home if you like."
                "But... I don't want to be left out."
                "You're not being left out; you have a part to play. You need your education and you need to sleep."
                She sighed, a tear spilling down her cheek the sign of her yielding. "Fine."
                As Marissa dragged herself up the staircase Terra was grabbing the keys from the hook by the jackets. She got her green hooded sweatshirt and threw Era's knitted shawl to her. Like they were racing daybreak they hurried outside and into the car, flipping their hoods over their heads.
                The rain poured, sheets building into a windy slant that blurred their vision but they had no trouble seeing through it, and ducking into their car. They were soaked at that point, their feet slipping on the floorboard, and Terra's feet over the gas and brake pedals. The tires screeched out of the driveway in complaint to the wet concrete and movement of haste they moved in.
                Era released the paper from under her shirt and smoothed out the wet spots. "Why are we in such a hurry," she asked as if it was not of anything of importance.
                Terra didn't answer. She didn't have one. There was no reason they were moving like bats out of Hades. There was something in the way that Aunt Gwen warned them of this peril.
                They lived all of their lives without any of the so called danger. When Terra thought about it, it didn't seem right. When they have been separated as long as they have, why hasn't there been anything to threaten them? They were in peace, but was Bryne?
                “It doesn't seem right, for us to be safe all of our lives and be warned that it could be gone. Where has this danger been?” Terra questioned.
                “We move a lot,” Era mentioned smartly. “That's what Aunt Gwen told us, it was part of the reason. The more we moved the harder it would be to track us.”
                “Maybe it wasn't tracking us at all.”
                “Are you thinking that Bryne's been in trouble this whole time?”
                “I don't know, but I plan to find out.” Terra replied. Though they were moving too fast, the threat of them hydroplaning was very possible, she pushed on the gas a little more anyway. Time suddenly was the most vital; it worked against them and mostly against Bryne.
                She didn't know the fire spirit, she knew nothing but of his name and that he had a severe attitude problem. But he was alone, and had been alone all those years. While Terra had her sisters, he was set off to defend himself. It seemed unfair how it worked out that way.
                It was like asking who made the stars, the sun and the moon. Was it as simple as that, or was there something they weren't seeing? Was there more to the story than they were told? Who separated them and why would they be so cruel to one boy? Why?
                "Right there." Era pointed to a small house, weeds covering the overgrown grass, drowning in the storm.
                Terra pulled over on the far side of the road and shut off the engine. You could hear the pattering of the rain louder and more pure. A human wouldn't have been able to see the details of the house at their distance, the weather a band between them, but they could see. She saw the roughly shaped concrete dogs on the crumbling porch steps, the missing pieces of the gray roof. Compared to the neighbors of freshly mowed lawns of nicely kept houses it looked like it belonged in a poor