Page 19 of The Elementalist (Four Elements #1)

Dirty Little Secret

We sat there for a while in a long awkward silence.

Eventually, Crystal looked over at me. “Are you a religious man, Mr. Long?”

“Not overly. I mean, sure, I believe in God, but I couldn’t tell ya the last time I went to church.

” Truth be told, I’d always felt more spiritually alive out here in the woods.

Guess I understand why now. “And, that’s a bit of a random question…

you wondering if I’ve got a bunch of crucifixes or something in the back to take on the vampires with? ”

She giggled. “No. Those won’t help. I’m asking if you’re the sort of person who’d hear the word ‘witch’ and want to start screaming.”

“You’re a witch?”

“No.” She batted her eyes at me and my heart fluttered in response. “But people who hate witches aren’t terribly fond of the sort of secret I have either. There’s a reason my family sent me away and wants nothing to do with me. I’m a bit of an embarrassment to them.”

I couldn’t imagine what a girl like her could possibly do to be an ‘embarrassment’ to anyone. “What’d you do? Keep using the wrong fork for the salad course?”

Crystal emitted a clipped laugh. “No, Mr. Long. A minor breach of manners like that would hardly have been enough to be cast out. I have not shared my secret with many people. However, I also haven’t met anyone else who can make the wind and rain obey or fire appear from thin air.”

“Well, that makes two of us. To be honest, it’s all kinda new for me.”

She smiled. “Well, you’ve also seen vampires and you’re not losing your mind.”

“Heh. I’ve been told I don’t rattle easy. And, well, I’m stubborn. Or ‘pig headed’ as my ex-girlfriend would say.”

“The sheriff.” She glanced off out the side window. “That woman is a tool.”

“She’s not that bad.”

Crystal rolled her eyes. “No, Mr. Long. I mean a literal tool. She is under the control of vampires, at least she has been for the past year or two. Specifically, those aligned with the Farrington family. I’m sure you noticed how convinced she was that nothing more unusual than an animal attack caused Dana and Luke’s death? ”

“She’s always been like that. Gets an idea in her head and good damn luck changing her mind, even with evidence.”

“Well, she’s not important now. The law is of no help in dealing with vampires. In a place like Shadow Pines, the important individuals within the local government are controlled and the others won’t believe the truth. We can’t go to the FBI for the same reason.”

I tapped my fingers at the wheel. “They’d think we’re crazy. And if I tried to prove it to them”—I summoned a small fire in my palm—“I’d either be shot, sent to a lab, or handed over to the CIA to do who-knows-what.”

“Yes. It’s why I tell so few people about my dirty little secret.”

“What could you possibly have done that made your family consider you an embarrassment?”

“It’s not anything I did, rather what my mother did.” Crystal gradually turned toward me, making eye contact. “You see, I’m not exactly normal.”

“No one who lives in Shady Pines is nor—”

Her eyes started glowing red-orange. Curved horns grew out from her temples, twisting back like a cute little ram.

I have no idea how on God’s green Earth she managed to do so, but…

she became even more beautiful. The effect lasted only a moment before she once again appeared normal, which is to say, merely breathtaking.

“Okay. I stand corrected. That’s unusual even for this town.”

My more or less blasé reaction seemed to reassure her enough to add sincerity to her smile. “Thoughts?”

“You have horns,” I said.

“I do.” She bit her lip, pouring on the demure smile. “I have a few other surprises, too.”

“Are they invisible?”

Crystal took my hand and brushed it across her temple where the horn had been.

Her hair had the softness of a rabbit’s fur, and I felt nothing there that shouldn’t be.

“They go… somewhere else. I suppose it’s similar to how the werewolves shapeshift.

But I’m not a lycanthrope. I’m what’s called a succubus, Max. ”

I blinked. “A succu-what?”

“Succubus. Or at least half of one. Or maybe three-quarters. I don’t understand exactly how that works. And as far as I know, I’m not a demon.”

“If demons could make themselves look as… angelic as you, that would be…”

“You’re too kind.” She blushed. “I believe we’re more fey than demon, though depending on who you ask… fey and demons aren’t terribly far removed from each other.”

I mulled that for a little while. My knowledge of succubi came entirely from movies and a handful of books I’d read years ago, which is to say almost nothing and probably all bullshit.

However, those sources all had the recurring theme of sex.

“Did your father or mother walk in on something… awkward?”

She laughed. “No. Father knew exactly what I was the whole time. Mother had been charmed by an incubus. Of course, my human father didn’t hold it against her since she’d been powerless to resist and unable to control herself.

Once I came of a certain age and my… presence became too distracting for anyone who visited the house, I was sent away.

To those outside the family, I’m the product of an affair that my father forgave my mother for. ”

That’s only a little uncomfortable to think about.

The former mayor sending his ‘daughter’ away because guests felt a strong attraction to her.

From the moment I first laid eyes on her, she’d stirred feelings in me I thought I’d never have for a woman again.

Oddly enough, not what I would’ve guessed from a succubus, like overwhelming lust. Her presence called to me on a deeper level, a ‘this is the woman I want to grow old with’ sort of level.

It occurred to me at that moment that perhaps a real succubus would trigger whatever appealed to a man’s inner self most. And after seeing how well things worked out with Justine (sarcasm), simple lust evidently wasn’t enough for me to carry on anything long term.

Who could’ve guessed? And, sure… I thought Justine was a fascinating, intelligent, capable woman.

We simply didn’t click. That made me also wonder if how I saw Crystal as an innocent-faced ingénue too delicate for the harshness of the world, a girl in need of protection…

did that come from her power trying to trick me into fulfilling some sort of ‘protector’ role?

“How much of your appearance is what I want to see compared to what is?”

Crystal regarded me for a long moment. “That’s incredibly sweet of you, but I am neither as innocent as I appear nor as helpless. This is, however, how I look to everyone. The”—she held up a hand, waving her fingers—“delicateness is from the fey side of the family.”

Well, there’s that. “Okay.” I blink. “Are you reading my mind or assuming what I thought?”

“Yes.” She fluttered her eyes at me.

I sat there a moment, then nodded, not quite sure what to think.

“I’m not evil, Max. I need you to understand that.

I do like to have fun, be wild, indulge in certain vices…

I’ve never had the patience for an overabundance of rules or being proper, which only made my family want me around less.

They may be pricks, but I still love them—except for Grandmother.

.. she’s been a real bitch to me. Dana was the only one who never acted like I’d become a pariah.

We were quite a bit closer than half-sisters ought to have been. ”

Hmm. I rubbed my chin, realizing I needed to shave soon.

The dead sister hadn’t shunned her like the rest of the family.

Perhaps the others objected to this? “Do you think your relationship with Dana is the reason she’d been targeted?

I’m getting the feeling the attack wasn’t as random as it appeared. ”

She fidgeted at her shirt where it draped in her lap, her expression at an unreadable place between deep thought, an imminent explosion of tears, and wanting to tear someone’s face off.

Hopefully, not mine. After a few minutes, she looked up.

“I suppose it is possible they targeted her, but I don’t think her simply treating me like a sister she’d grown up with and not an outcast would’ve been enough to have her killed. ”

“Do you think she might’ve seen something that night in the woods they didn’t want her revealing?”

“They?”

I shrugged. “A targeted murder is ordered by someone. Whoever did it is the they. Your family, another family, an as-yet-unknown vampire, perhaps even Piper sent his buddy to attack them… who knows?”

“Well, Dana did say something unusual on the call that I hadn’t told anyone about. ‘Crimony biscuits.’”

“Is that some odd British dessert?”

She managed a weak smile. “No, it’s from a series of books we read as children.

It’s about this girl and her friend who basically run around solving mysteries.

And of course, they run into stuff like mummies and monsters and evil wizards.

More often than not, each story has a character in it that seems nice and friendly but turns out to be working for the bad guys—or is the bad guy.

Whenever Drusilla, the main girl, realizes this or sees something dangerous, she always says ‘crimony biscuits.’”

“I’m guessing she says that because they can’t put ‘aww fuck’ in a kids’ book.”

That got a laugh out of her. “Yeah, probably.”

“But, Dana never used that phrase in real conversation. I’m sure she blurted it as a clue of some kind. Either she’d seen something extremely strange and dangerous, or… someone I trust is really a threat.”

“But she didn’t want to say it outright?”

“Maybe.”

“Hmm... perhaps she did see something that someone wanted to keep quiet. Question is, what? And who sent Derek after her?”

“I’m sure Piper wasn’t far behind. Two peas in a pod. Both equally psychotic in their own way. Don’t let Piper’s charm fool you. He makes Ted Bundy look like a saint.”