Destroyer (The Elemental Series #7)(37)

My eyebrows shot up. “First, Samara is strong enough to take on anything that comes her way. She was an Ender before she was a queen. Secondly,” I shook my head, “how many kids do you have?”

A breath slid from him. “You’re right. She will be okay.”

He went silent and I elbowed him hard in the belly. “How many kids, Raven?”

His eyes narrowed. “More than two.”

More than two, that told me nothing. He could have ten. Ten little powerhouses running around the world causing havoc.

Awesome.





CHAPTER 15



“I think we should train while we fly to the Himalayas.” Raven touched a hand to my shoulder. “We don’t have much time and you need to learn everything you can, while you can.”

He had a solid point. We were going after the false mother goddess who had four of the five stones of power. On her own, without the stones, she was strong enough to make the world of the elementals believe she was the mother goddess. She’d been strong enough to create visions for rites of passage for elementals, and to impersonate those I loved. I rubbed a hand over my face. “Okay, what have you got?”

“Have you gone through all your memories?” he asked.

I shrugged but didn’t look back at him. The last memory I’d unveiled had been horrifying in its pain. “Does it matter what is false in my past and what is real? We know what Viv’s up to. We know she’s going to attempt to kill the original elementals. What does it matter if Cassava tangled up my memories?”

I looked to Peta when Raven didn’t say anything. “What do you think, cat? Am I right?”

She nodded, her eyes bright as her fur ruffled in the wind that rushed around us. “I agree. Unless something comes up where a memory is directly tied to your past, I think it’s a waste of time.”

“Something else then,” Raven said, and I think it was more to himself. “Okay, this is what I’ve got. You pick.”

That was a surprise, but I stayed quiet and pondered. “There are things you can do with Spirit that no other elemental can do. Like Riding it.”

“You say that like it’s a proper name.”

I twisted to look at him. He was not always easy to read, and I knew from our history, I needed to be careful when dealing with him.

“My daughter calls it that. Riding Spirit. It allows you to move from place to place, not unlike jumping the Veil. Only without the kickback of crushing your soul over time.”

I couldn’t resist thinking of Pamela. “You mean Pam?”

His face drained of color. “You… how do you know?”

“She opened the Veil, and Rylee was there. The mother goddess told me to save her, so I did.”

“Thank you.” He spoke without hesitation.

I shrugged. “I always liked her.”

He cleared his throat and looked away. “She’s the best of me, Lark. The best of me and her mother.”

I didn’t doubt that. “On to the training. Pamela calls it Riding Spirit. I saw her do it, but I didn’t understand how she can use so much Spirit for something that is, in its own way, frivolous.” That was one of the first things I’d learned. Using Spirit created a toll on your own soul, one that I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the cost of, considering how often I’d used it.

“And who told you not to use it, that it was dangerous?” Raven asked, his eyebrows high.

I closed my eyes as a memory slid through me. “Viv. Shit, she was the one who told me that Spirit shouldn’t be used, that it would take up my soul. Is it not true then?”

He shook his head and then nodded. “Yes and no. Using Spirit to damage others breaks your mind, as it’s done with Cassava. But using it to help others, to do good, heals those breaks. So, if you use it in balance, you’re okay. And Riding it is a neutral usage, not harming or helping anyone.”

Yet again, I’d been led astray by Viv and her machinations. “Damn her. Okay, tell me how to do it then.”

I continued to stare at him, finally grasping how he’d escaped me in the Eyrie. “That’s how you keep avoiding me, disappearing into thin air.”

He shook his head and spoke as if he’d read my mind. “Again, yes and no. You can’t Ride Spirit in or out of the elemental homes. They are protected from that to keep Spirit Walkers from going wherever they want. Back when there were enough Spirit Walkers to do that, anyway.”

That was it; he wasn’t giving me anything more. I snorted. “Okay. Show me how to do this Riding of Spirit.”

“We have to land, and as you can see, right now we are over a rather large body of water. When you make the jump, you can’t do it with more than a single person, not unlike Traveling with the armbands. Actually, I think the Traveling bands were set up by Spirit Walkers.” He swept his hand out to indicate the ocean below us as he spoke.

As if to impress on me the point that we were indeed over the Atlantic, a spray of salty air slapped me in my face. “Fine. As soon as we land you are going to teach me that.”

He gave me a sloppy salute and I glared. “Don’t get sassy with me, Raven.”

“You need me to teach you. Especially since Talan is going to be pissed when he finally catches up to us. Goddess only knows what he will do then.” He blew out a breath and shook his head.