Peta (An Elemental Series Novella, 3.5) Read Free Page A

it was sucking her down and sapping her strength. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and the pain that flowed between us was not pain of the body.
    Pain of the heart.
    Damn her, I liked her too much already to let her die.
    The water pushed her toward me and with a snarl I lashed out, digging my claws into her arm and yanking her close enough that I could get my mouth on her other hand and drag her out of the water.
    “Dirt Girl. If you decide to go swimming, perhaps a less dangerous place would be good, eh?” I paced by her head, my heart stumbling over what had almost happened. I’d almost failed her. No. I would not feel that worry again. I would not care that her death would matter. “Is it not enough everyone thinks I’m bad luck? To lose you on the first day I’m assigned to you would be the end of my reputation completely. How could I ever show my face again?”
    That was not the truth though; the truth was far more upsetting. I’d liked her since I met her in the Deep. She’d defended me against Loam’s insults and those few kind words had stuck with me.
    She lifted her hand. “Thanks for saving me. That’s three times now. You must like me.”
    Indeed. That’s what I was trying to avoid.
    I pushed my life energy toward her, giving her enough that her hands would heal, that the burns over the skin would disappear. Fatigue swept over me, but I was used to it and I ignored it.
    That was the price of being a familiar. Losing a piece of yourself on a regular basis to your charge.
    “What are you doing?” She frowned up at me, her two toned eyes glittering like the jewels in the queen’s throne room.
    “I’m letting you draw on me. That is what elementals do; they allow their charges to be stronger, faster, and heal at a speed that keeps them alive. Or is supposed to, anyway.”
    She frowned harder. “Well, stop it. I don’t want to draw from you.”
    “Too good to draw from a cat?” I spit out, turning my face away from her as Smoke approached.
    Even the Terraling didn’t want me.
    That stung.
    Smoke helped the Terraling and within moments there was more trouble with the pregnant wife of the Ender Lark killed storming toward us with a group of women.
    But it was the way Dirt Girl handled the grieving woman . . . the kindness and the way she took responsibility for her actions that surprised me. Almost as if she truly cared that what she’d done had caused others pain.
    And then she used Spirit.
    Not since I was a young cat had I felt Spirit and the familiarity of it soothed some of my fears. The Terraling used Spirit quietly, gently, as if it were to be respected and feared.
    Smart girl. Even if she was a dirt girl. Her use of Spirit helped me understand a little more about her. The moments of almost connecting with her was because my first charge had been a Spirit Walker.
    So it had nothing to do with her personally the moments of feeling close. More of a matter of the past coming back to haunt me.
    After dealing with the women, we went to Cactus’s home. Though I doubted he could be of any help to us. He was too tied into the queen and her machinations; I questioned if he would even speak to us.
    So when the prick opened his door and we stepped in . . . I was shocked on more than one level.
    And then very, very afraid; what Cactus had in his home was bordering on treason.
    The greenery that sprouted from every nook of stone was lush and beautiful. Every shade of green I’d ever seen in my life from the deepest of hues that seemed nearly black to the palest of tones that could almost be called cream and everything in between. Added into that were the heavy hanging fruits and flowers scattered everywhere, like explosions of color. The air was cleaner, cooler, and soothed my senses in every way possible. I leapt from Dirt Girl’s shoulder to the ground. Even the rock below my feet was covered in a thick moss that beckoned me to lie down and roll around with abandon.
    “Dirt Girl, is your home like