Page 2 of Veiled By Smoke (The Nature Hunters Academy #5)
“Honestly, I got nothing. For the first time, well, maybe the second, in my life, I am speechless.” ~ Shelly
“T he murder rate in the U.S. alone has skyrocketed by a staggering twenty percent in just two weeks,” the news reporter said with a tremble in his voice.
His eyes darted nervously as he, no doubt, read the teleprompter that fed him this terrifying information to share with the world.
“But it's not just major cities experiencing an increase in violent crimes. In smaller towns and rural areas, law enforcement and locals are reporting record-breaking numbers of thefts, vandalism, and brutal assaults.”
Shelly felt her stomach churn as the gravity of the situation sank in.
The female reporter's voice quivered as she turned to her co-host. "What is happening, Tom?"
"It's not just our nation, Pam," Tom replied with a heavy sigh.
"Government officials have confirmed that this is a global phenomenon. We are living in a time of unprecedented violence and crime. Not to mention the natural disasters taking place all over the world. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornados, hurricanes. The list goes on. It’s as if Armageddon has finally come. "
Pam shook her head in disbelief. "Just when you think things can't get any worse."
“That’s all for now, folks,” Tom said, as he collected the papers that had been sitting in front of him. “Thank you for tuning in. We will be back at ten p.m. for the final nightly update and weather. Remember to stay alert and stay safe.”
Ra slid his hand across his phone, closing out the news app. Shelly met his black eyes briefly, and though to others it might creep them out, she simply saw the man she loved.
The cave was silent, save for the soft, omnipresent crackle of the fire in the stone hearth built into the wall of the cave.
Outside, the wind howled, swirling snow in patterns that might have been beautiful if the world wasn’t falling apart.
Inside, it was just the eight of them, plus a dragon king currently crammed into a corner looking like a very judgmental house cat.
Shelly might have said something about the ambiance, but she was still trying to process the news segment Ra had shown them.
Apparently, the world had decided to go full-on apocalypse.
Murder was up, and it wasn’t just big cities.
Small towns, rural communities, places where people used to leave keys in their cars and doors unlocked were now locking up tight, unless the doors had already been kicked in by someone desperate.
There were earthquakes in Kansas, for crying out loud.
Tornadoes where there should only be sunshine.
Hurricanes in November. It was as if reality had gone off the rails and no one remembered how to steer.
Shelly squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers into her temples. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be under this blanket, pretending the world isn’t ending.”
Ra slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his warmth. He didn’t say anything, but she felt his steady heartbeat through their bond, a comfort against the chill that had nothing to do with the snow outside.
“Seriously, that wasn’t depressing,” Rory said, her voice dry as sandpaper.
She flopped back onto a pile of furs, her dark hair spilling around her like a cloak.
Aston, ever the dutiful soul bonded, sat by where her head lay, absently braiding a strand of her hair with so much focus Shelly wondered if he was hoping to braid away his own anxiety.
Aston looked up, glasses slipping down his nose. “On the bright side, at least we’re not in Kansas.”
Gabby groaned. “I think we’ve endured enough natural disasters for the moment. Considering the freaking volcano incident.”
“That’s one for the history books, Babe,” Liam supplied, his arm slung around her like he was her favorite hoodie.
Elias cleared his throat, ever the stoic, serious one, even in the face of an apocalypse where humor would at least make dying a little less scary.
“We need to focus. The world’s unraveling, yes.
But we’re not helpless. That’s why we’re here to learn, to train, to figure out what the soul element actually is and how we keep the rest of the world from completely imploding. ”
Tara perched on the arm of his chair, somehow provided by the magic of the dragons, and nodded, her expression fierce. “The dragons are on our side. We have each other. And we have Kimba who is a bonafide badass dragon, and maybe Osiris, once he stops acting like a moody teenager, with amnesia.”
Shelly snorted. “That’s generous. He’s more like a moody toddler with a god complex and the inability to accept the word ‘no’. But sure. Teamwork.”
A rumbling chuckle rolled through the cave.
Sepheron watched them with golden eyes that missed nothing.
“You are not wrong, little one. The soul element was once the balance point for all the elements. When it was lost, the world began to tip. Now, with the king and queen reunited, there is a chance to restore what was broken.”
“Okay, pause,” Rory sat up, her eyes narrowed on the dragon king. “You said king and queen. Last I checked, the only royal of this forgotten element was Osiris. What haven’t you told us?”
Sepheron’s large, gold eyes looked at Rory, unblinking as he answered. “That revelation will be coming sooner rather than later. You might want to brace yourself, dragonrider.”
Rory rolled her eyes. “A dragon that talks in circles. Shocker. You’re as bad as Kimba about saying nothing and acting like you’re saying everything.” She flopped back on the furs with a dramatic sigh.
Ra tensed beside Shelly, drawing her attention away from Aston’s mate. “While the female makes a good point, I’d like to ask what you meant when you said ‘a chance,’” he echoed Sepheron’s previous words. “Are you saying there’s also a chance we fail?”
Shelly tried not to think about the bargain Ra had made with the dark fire king in regards to failing, considering that was a whole other issue than what they were discussing. One crisis at a time, she reminded herself.
Sepheron’s massive head dipped in a solemn nod.
“Balance is not easily regained. Especially when the darkness has spread so far. But hope is not lost. The soul bonded will retake their place as the gatekeepers to the underworld. The light and dark that brings you balance will keep you from being easily corrupted the way Osiris was. But first, we must deal with the inhabitants of hell and the rightful ruler.”
Rory raised a hand in the air with a finger pointed, her eyes still closed. “Don’t forget the queen we don’t know about, who apparently is supposed to be a part of this whole balancing act. Let’s not just brush that fact under the proverbial rug.”
“Nobody is going to forget, because you’re not going to let us,” Gabby pointed out. “So slow your role and quit being hormonal.”
“I will match your sarcasm and raise you a finger,” Rory said, holding up her hand again and flipping off Gabby.
The red headed fire elemental just shook her head. “Mature.”
Shelly looked around at the group. They were a motley crew: the youngest soul-bonded pairs, a grumpy dragon king, and, though not present in the cave with them, a former ruler of hell with an identity crisis, and a mysterious soul-bonded queen that is supposedly mated to said former ruler of hell.
Back in the human realm, or their own realms, there were royal elementals doing their own part to save humanity, and the earth.
But here, in this cave, with the human world being wreaked upon, she felt like maybe, just maybe, they had a chance at saving something worth saving.
She cleared her throat. “So. Where do we start? Dragon boot camp? Ancient elemental history crash course? Or is this more of a ‘learn on the job, try not to die’ kind of thing?”
Rory grinned. “I’m voting for boot camp. If Sepheron yells at us, maybe it’ll drown out the sound of the world ending.”
Aston nudged her. “You just want to see if you can out-fly Kimba.”
“I’m pretty sure Kimba could out-fly a hurricane, not to mention if I rode another dragon, she’d totally take me out, ” Rory said, rolling her eyes. “But I might be willing to test the theory.”
Liam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Sepheron, what exactly does training to be a soul-bonded gatekeeper look like? Because I don’t think anyone here signed up for Demon-Wrangling 101.”
The dragon king’s voice rumbled through the stone. “First, you must understand your bond. The soul element amplifies all others. Your connection is your power. If you cannot wield it together, you are vulnerable. In the face of demons, alone, you are nothing.”
Shelly shivered. She thought of Ra, of the times their bond had held her together when everything else was falling apart. Of the darkness that had crept in when they’d been separated. “So . . . team-building exercises?”
Gabby snorted. “If he makes us do trust falls, I’m out.”
Sepheron’s tail thumped, sending a small avalanche of snow down outside the cave mouth. “No trust falls. But you will fight. Together. You will learn to channel your power, not just for yourselves, but for the world. The gatekeepers are the last defense. Without you, the darkness will consume all.”
No pressure, Shelly thought. Just the fate of the world, resting on the shoulders of seven barely-functional twenty-somethings.
“The first thing you need to know about this soul-bonded element is the pair that rule over it. As you know, Osiris is the king. And now, you will meet the queen.” He motioned his large head behind them, and they all turned to look at the opening of the cave.