The Elementalist

By Melissa J. Cunningham

Deceased Alisa Callahan thinks nothing could be worse than watching the boy she loves move on in his life without her... until she is ripped from her less-than-peaceful existence in Elysium to be trapped... in someone’s else’s body.

Seventeen-year-old Claire Balister wants only one thing. To master the art of Elementalism. To accomplish this, she must learn to control a damned soul. Her old classmate and suicide victim, Alisa Callahan, is the perfect candidate. But when the spell goes wrong, Claire finds herself in the worst possible situation... sharing her body with an unwanted guest.

Everything swirls out of control when Alisa learns the terrifying truth about her entrapment. Her only hope rests with a boy who can’t remember her, his past, or more importantly, who he really is...

One of the bad guys.

The Elementalist is the much-anticipated sequel to Reluctant Guardian.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CTP Publishing
• Release date: Mar 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781634220590

Melissa J. Cunningham

Melissa Cunningham, (also known as M. E. Cunningham) is from northern Utah, where she lives with her husband and kids, plus a slew of dogs, cats, horses, and chickens. She is a plantaholic, collects rocks and crystals, plays piano and guitar, and loves communing with nature. More of a hermit than anything, she loves relaxing at home.She is the award-winning author of The Reluctant Guardian series, and the Out of Terratir series, published by Clean Teen Publishing.

Book preview

~Enduring~

Alisa

I had no idea how long I’d been away from Earth, or more importantly, away from Brecken. I’d never been able to judge time here in the afterlife with it being so fluid. Years could go by for a mortal, and it would seem like an hour or two for those of us up here in Elysium.

It didn’t help that I kept reliving my last moments with Brecken before he’d been yanked away and sent back to Earth. Our last touch and last kiss had been magical and too short-lived.

Raphael had told me to let Brecken go, to set him free to live a normal, human life, without a ghost following him everywhere. The intelligent part of me understood completely. Brecken had requirements to fulfill. I got it. But my heart couldn’t let go of the fact that he was expected to get married and have a family.

A family.

That phrase rang in my ears like an oriental gong announcing the death of my dreams. So, what did I do when Raphael informed me of this little detail? I ran. I hid. Escape and evade. I was sure he knew where I was the whole time, because he seemed to know where everyone was at all times, but just once, I’d like to disappear from his view, to be alone and cry my tears of grief.

Looking back over my time as Brecken’s guardian, I accomplished a lot. I fell in love, defeated a demon, won the boy I cherished, and then lost him to mortality. The only thing that soothed my miserable soul now was the fact that I’d helped my family to heal. That had to count for something.

I made the choice to spend eternity in Elysium, but I did it more by default than anything else. If I couldn’t have Brecken, I didn’t want to be on Earth at all, especially if I had to babysit a stranger. I was done being a guardian.

I chose heaven, and even though I’d met a ton of relatives and I got to be with Gram and Natty as much as I wanted, something was missing. There was a hole in my heart—figuratively speaking—gaping wide open.

For a while, I’d spent time helping out in the library in Idir Shaol. That was fine, but it had felt like I was drifting, like I had no purpose, no function. I didn’t last there for long.

When I’d first died, all I’d wanted was pink, fluffy clouds to rest upon or maybe a harp to play. Then I’d been assigned to guard Brecken, and my life changed. He filled those empty spaces inside me. He helped heal my soul. But I’d let him go. If you loved something, set it free, right? I did that. I thought I’d feel better.

I didn’t.

Something had to change. I couldn’t keep living like this.

I came up with a plan.

2

~Desperation~

Brecken

Brecken’s life sucked, and it seemed like there was nothing he could do to fix it. Smashing his fist through the thin sheetrock of his unfinished bedroom wall did nothing but make the skin over his knuckles crack and bleed. Even still, the sharp sting was less painful than the frustration he felt.

Here he was… on Earth, the Great Undoer, a former general in the armies of Hell, a leader among the greatest demons and devils ever to come into existence… and yet he felt more fallen now than ever before. How would he make it through his life pretending he couldn’t remember who he really was? What made him think he was redeemable?

His last conversation with the archangel, Raphael, was still fresh in his mind. He was supposed to move on, finish high school, and go to college. He was supposed to be a normal teenage boy, like any other in America. But he wasn’t just some teenage boy. He’d left an existence where he’d been revered, worshiped, and a commander of millions, but that had been a life of evil, horrors, and murder.

Raphael had saved him—on so many levels—and Brecken had agreed to this mortal probation, so his past could be expunged. He wanted to leave his past behind and rise up to become something better, something more.

And how did Alisa fit into things? Never had he met anyone like her. She was so young, so inexperienced, and yet so full of life and enthusiasm. He couldn’t leave the chapter of her behind. She had changed him too much, giving him a taste of what his life could be like. She had opened a door that could not easily be closed, and he refused to pretend that his feelings for her could be turned off effortlessly.

They—the powers that be—wanted him to meet a girl, get married, and have kids. Raphael had said it like it was nothing at all. They expected him to fall in love with someone else even though they knew how he felt about Alisa. He couldn’t do it—wouldn’t—do it. This time they’d asked too much… or had they? Did he really want to throw away all that he’d done to get to this point?

And what would it do to Alisa, to know that he’d given up and crawled back into his hole in the underworld? She was waiting for him. Depending on him. Trusting him.

But how would he get through this life with all of these memories constantly flooding his mind, reminding him of who he used to be, and of who he’d betrayed to get here? Granted, betraying demons and devils wasn’t such a bad thing if you were defecting into the armies of Elysium, but still, those he’d commanded hadn’t forgotten him, and if given half the chance, they would come after him with berserker fury.

He rose from his bed, exhausted, his brooding having taken the whole night. Now he would have to suffer through another day of high school. High school! He banged his fist on the wall as he trudged up the stairs, creating a crater in the sheetrock. Great. Now he’d hear it from his dad. Just one more thing to get in trouble for. He was actually a teenager with a dad! He almost couldn’t believe it.

In the kitchen, he poured himself a bowl of cold cereal. It was dark outside, and his sisters were still asleep in their beds. He’d have to wake them up soon or they’d be late for school. His dad had already left for work, as usual.

The cold linoleum chilled his feet as he sat at the table, slurping his frosted flakes. How would he get through another sixty years like this? Now he understood why people had to forget their past lives. He wanted to forget his. Not necessarily forget Alisa, but that was what he’d have to do, wasn’t it? He wouldn’t pass this test Raphael had given him otherwise. He wouldn’t be able to fall in love with someone else, have a family, and raise kids if he was in love with Alisa, because he didn’t want anyone else.

He had to talk to Raphael. He somehow had to get him to see reason. They couldn’t force him to obey… but then, he had to do what they asked or risk the future.

Sighing, he placed his bowl in the sink. As he leaned against the cold Formica counter, thoughts swam through his mind with no sign of slowing down. When the sound of the shower interrupted his daydreaming, he left the kitchen and padded down the hall. Sure enough, Heidi was in the bathroom, but Sophie was still in bed.

He walked into her room and shook her shoulder. Hey, kiddo. Time to get up. She was ten now, growing so fast. It was hard to believe a whole year had gone by since Alisa was his guardian. So much had happened. They had fought against demons and had come out on the other side, victorious. He’d thought that being able to keep his memories of those experiences would be wonderful. What he’d thought was a gift, was really a curse. It was like a sword being driven through his heart all day, every day. He missed Alisa with an ache that couldn’t be healed, and he felt her absence in his life profoundly. Every day he dreamed of seeing her, hoping that she would somehow be able to escape her fluffy clouds of paradise and come to him.

But she never did.

Raphael was keeping them apart, which felt wrong to Brecken on so many levels.

Forty-five minutes later, the bus arrived, its monstrous engine idling out by the street corner. The girls raced down the front steps, their backpacks slung over their shoulders. Once they were safely on the bus and riding away, he locked the doors behind him and got on his motorcycle. It was time for another day of classes.

Yep. He was repeating his senior year of high school. That was just one more thing that made his life awesome.

3

~Sneaking Around~

Alisa

I was going back to Earth.

They couldn’t stop me.

Since I hadn’t been given another job yet, this was my chance. Closing my eyes, I pictured my neighborhood, the houses all lined up along the street. I could see it perfectly in my mind’s eye. I would appear there just by thinking about it. With a contented sigh, I felt the familiar tug and pull and then I opened my eyes.

I was in my general neighborhood, but I wasn’t in front of my house. That could only mean one thing—that I was meant to be at this house and in this neighborhood. So much for sneaking around.

I stared at the red brick home, its many gables staring back at me like mascara-lined eyelids. The white front door was in stark contrast to the black shutters. For what reason had I appeared here? My curiosity was piqued. I moved forward slowly, inspecting the light blue Volkswagen Bug in the driveway.

Flowers were interspersed between the green foliage along the walkway, and expensive potted plants rested on the front porch. Without another thought, I passed through the front door. Another perk of being a ghost.

Standing in the foyer, I took in the ambiance. Off to the right was a classy-looking kitchen with all the latest contraptions of stainless steel appliances and a black lacquered dining table. To the left was the living room with leather couches and a baby grand. A long staircase rose before me to the second level, but instead of ascending the stairs, I just rose from where I stood, going up through the floor.

Ah. A girl my age stood in front of her mirror, examining herself. She had gorgeous, long, auburn hair. The kind guys would love to run their fingers through. For a split second, I was envious, but that was just stupid, because no matter what color or thickness my hair was, it wasn’t available to guys or their fingers.

I moved closer to her to get a better look. She seemed vaguely familiar. From school? I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t remember her name. It might have been something like Claudia or Chloe. She obviously hadn’t been a close friend.

She held a pair of earrings up to her ears, admiring the way the silver winked in the light. I leaned in to get a better look—because I loved jewelry too—only to freeze where I stood. I knew those earrings! The familiar twist of silver, the dainty hook and tiger’s eye stone that hung from the bottom of the double-eternity design… they were mine! No. They couldn’t be. I had to be mistaken, but as I studied them closely, I knew… down to the depths of my ghostly toes. They were mine. One of a kind. I’d watched my best friend, Natty, make them for me by hand for my fourteenth birthday.

They had been my favorite earrings. I’d accidentally left them at school in my gym locker on the fateful day I’d driven my car into a tree and died. I couldn’t believe this girl had them! How? Fury rose in me like a tempest, and I wanted to smack them out of her fingers, but when I raised my arm to do it, I hesitated for just a moment.

More than punishing her for stealing, I wanted to know why. How had she gotten them in the first place? Did she go searching in my locker after I died? Had she snuck into my house and taken them? Surely, the school had given them back to my mother and she wouldn’t give them away. Maybe this girl had some kind of sick fascination with things that belong to dead people. I was curious enough to stick around and find out.

4

~The Séance~

Claire

Hundreds of dancing shadows writhed on the basement walls, and darkness grew thick in every corner. Candles flickered on a low table, the ambiance exactly right. Claire had made sure of that. Everything had to be perfect.

Her four closest friends were in attendance, one to represent each of the elements. Fire, for herself, symbolic of her flaming, auburn hair. Water for Jamie, her best friend, because he loved his H2O. He was on the swim team, and Claire had seldom ever seen him without wet hair. Earth, for Katelyn, because she was so grounded, solid, and reliable—her words, not Claire’s.

The twins represented Light and Shadow because Wade and Kaden were more connected, yet more opposite, than anyone Claire knew. They weren’t identical though. Kaden was way into sports, tall, and ripped. He succeeded at anything physical and made sure everyone knew it. She sensed he had a dark side, but she had yet to see it. He was perfect to represent Shadow.

Wade, on the other hand, was on his way to being a professional ballroom dancer, with arms as graceful as a ballerina’s and white-blond hair that shined like a halo around his almost-feminine face. He was kind and sensitive, with a warm smile and a gentle heart.

The book sat before Claire, its musty pages worn and aged, yellowed with time. The title for this spell was Appropriating the Supernatural. The five teens held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes. Goose bumps sprouted along Claire’s neck, and the hairs on her arms rose. Wade seemed afraid, with his wide, dilated eyes glancing around the room at each murky corner and darkened window.

She liked that.

I need to be home by five, he said. I’ll be grounded if I’m late, and I have dance practice.

Kaden snorted in response, breaking the ambiance. You do not. Mom and Dad aren’t even home tonight.

Claire tried not to grind her teeth. They were ruining it. They always did. None of her friends realized how important Elementalism was to her. They were about to bond with spirits from the other side, and the last thing she needed was for something to go wrong because of these idiots. It was too painful… on a variety of levels.

Don’t be a wuss, Wade, she said. Nothing’s going to happen to you. We’ve done this before, and you’re still alive.

Wade shook his head, his expression one of terror. No. This feels different. Doesn’t this feel different? He searched the group, but everyone averted their eyes.

Kaden stared off in the other direction, probably embarrassed to be related to such a crybaby, but Wade was right. This did feel different…

Katelyn stuck out her jaw. With her eyebrows raised, she said, Let’s just do this.

Okay, fine. Be quiet. This will work, so get ready. Claire closed her eyes and inhaled, wishing she hadn’t invited them at all, the tangy scent of beeswax filling her lungs. Soon, the soothing quiet and natural creaking of her house began to lull her senses, and she fell into a peaceful trance. She began by chanting the words from the book, which were written in Latin. They had taken some time to decipher, but eventually, she’d worked out the translation. Flesh becomes flesh, blood of the soul. Bring back what was lost (or taken) to bind the living. Two hearts intertwined, broken only by release.

She repeated the spell over and over, her voice growing louder with each refrain. The room quickly grew warm and sweat dotted her forehead, but she resisted the urge to wipe it away, knowing the circle could not be broken. Wade heaved deep, asthmatic breaths and would soon need his inhaler, but she couldn’t be distracted by that. This had to work. If she just believed strongly enough…

The candles flickered in an unseen breeze, the flames bending in an artful dance. It was happening. This was her destiny. It would all come together in one culminating moment.

Until Wade started wheezing and jerked his hand away from Kaden’s. He stumbled from the circle, clutching his chest and reaching for his backpack. Instantly, all sound was amplified in Claire’s ears as Wade pulled on the pack’s zipper.

She screamed as pain plowed through her head because of the interrupted spell. She fell to her side and pulled her knees to her chest, rocking like a baby on the floor, the pain hammering against her mind.

Claire? You okay? Jamie’s hand was warm on her arm.

She managed to gasp out, Fine. I’m fine. Just go. Everyone. Please. She scrunched her eyes shut, hiding tears of frustration and failure.

5

~Alone at Last~

Alisa

I watched Claire and her entourage go down into her basement of dark shadows and hidden corners. Bad things happened in basements. I knew that first hand.

Claire commenced to light candles, placing pillows and blankets on the floor. A large tome was the last thing centered on the blanket. What was she going to do? Have a séance? Perform some evil ritual? I waited in dread fascination as though this were some horror movie I was about to see. All we needed was a huge bowl of popcorn to make it perfect.

A couple of Claire’s friends were familiar to me, but my high school had been freaking huge, and one could easily go through four years of classes without meeting everyone. I remembered Katelyn though. She was a cheerleader, a girl I hadn’t liked, and from what I’d seen of Claire, they were a perfect match.

I couldn’t figure out Jamie or Wade though. I remembered seeing them around the high school, and they had been nice guys, so what were they doing here? They didn’t seem like the sort who would hang out with a wicked witch, but what did I know? Kaden had been a jock and still was. Enough said.

Claire started her spell. I sat outside the circle, watching, as they held hands. A chill spread through the room, and her friend, Wade, became jittery and jumpy, startling at any creak in the ceiling or any motion of the candles. In my opinion, that was a good thing—to be sensitive to the evil that was accumulating. It didn’t take long for the darkness to grow, and if I’d had a body, it would have been covered with goose bumps. I didn’t like what was happening, and I was half tempted to leave, but… that girl had my earrings.

None of the others seemed to feel what was happening because they all just sat there, but I was a trained guardian. I could do something. I had to do something. Slowly, I moved closer to Wade. I was growing worried about his breathing because it had started to hitch. The moment I touched his arm, he jumped up and ran for his inhaler. The circle broke, and the freaky ambiance disappeared. That fast. I didn’t feel one bit sorry for Claire when she lay there on the floor in obvious pain. Served her right.

***

Later that evening, Claire sat alone in her shadowy basement. She didn’t plan to call the gang together again. She didn’t have the time to plan around their schedules. That could take weeks. She would perform the ceremony alone. It would be harder, but she could do it. She had the necessary items: a hairbrush and a pair of pretty, silver earrings in the shape of a double eternity. How appropriate.

Surrounded by the flickering candles, Claire opened the book to the appropriate page. She closed her eyes and held Alisa Callahan’s stolen earrings. The girl had killed herself a year ago. She knew as soon as she heard about Alisa that this was her chance—her lucky break.

Claire let her mind drift back to that day after the suicide. She had been alone in the locker room at school.

It had been dim, with one florescent tube light flickering at the end of the row. She could still feel the chill in the air as she snuck down the long aisle to Alisa’s locker. It hadn’t been locked, but even if it had, she’d been prepared with a story about rescuing Alisa’s personal items and taking them to her parents. She wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip past. Alisa’s brush had been clogged with her long, blonde hair, and next to the brush were the earrings.

Claire hadn’t really known Alisa Callahan, who’d mostly kept to herself. She’d seen her in the halls their sophomore year, and had noticed her in a couple of classes, but nothing about her stood out in Claire’s memory. She was just a girl who had given up. The perfect candidate to command on the other side. Someone so passive—so benign and inhibited—would be easy to control.

Claire was ready to perform the ritual. She could feel the spirits on the other side, cheering her on, pushing her forward, and inspiring her mind. That wouldn’t be happening if this were not meant to be. The five elements were displayed around her. Water in a dish, a tiny candle for light and fire, a tipped bowl to show a shadow, and a handful of earth from the backyard.

Breathing slowly, she began the chant. The words of the spell tumbled from her mouth, and the basement grew chill. Clouds of steam puffed from her lips as she chanted, but she didn’t stop. The candles flickered, a gust of wind blew through the room, and then the candles flamed out, leaving her in darkness with the cold breath of a damned soul tracing its icy fingers over her shoulders.

The prickle slithered down over her arms, as though there were hands resting there, and a moment of fear enveloped her. This wasn’t right. It was too cold, too… something. Had her spell gone wrong? She’d done everything right.

It happened fast and without time to react. The force of a thousand fists plowed into her chest like a sledgehammer and Claire gasped for air, but nothing released the pressure. She clawed at her chest, desperate to keep whatever was trying to get inside at bay. White dots glazed her vision and vertigo seemed to spin her in circles.

She had made a terrible mistake. This was not how it was supposed to feel. She wasn’t supposed to be in pain. Claire fell to her side and time slowed, her cheek taking a million years to hit the ice-cold cement floor. Frost formed on her eyelashes as she lay there, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to even blink.

6

~Bound~

Alisa

It happened fast.

One minute, I was sitting there trying to figure out how to get my earrings back while watching Claire do her freaky séance thing, and the next, I’m ripped—like a page shorn from a book—and stuffed, no, slammed, into a space that was too tight and suffocating, my screams choked off before I could even utter them.

Every cell of my soul screamed out in protest. I couldn’t imagine a scenario to explain what was happening to me. I couldn’t even begin to understand. Was this a test? A punishment for going down to Earth without permission? Was God tired of my complaints and whining? It was the only thing I could think of that made sense.

A moment later, I lay still, gasping with each exhalation, my skin chilled, goose bumps peppering my arms and legs. I gulped huge mouthfuls of air, trying to focus my eyes, which felt like they had huge gobs of Vaseline covering them. I struggled to a sitting position, disoriented, with panic consuming me.

My whole body ached, and I groaned as I pulled myself to my hands and knees. Thick waves of auburn hair tumbled over my shoulders, reaching to the frigid, blanket-covered cement floor.

I froze. What the…? Grabbing the long strands, I stared at them. My voice sounded wrong too—gasping and raspy, deeper than normal. I gazed down at my body, at my hands. These fingers weren’t mine! They were shorter, but with longer nail beds. My arms were lightly dusted with rust-colored freckles and my boobs… wow! Huge! Like twice my normal size. This was not my body! I was in someone else’s body. This couldn’t be happening!

Stumbling to my feet, I hurried over to the flight of wooden stairs, only to realize I was too dizzy to walk. Stars danced before my eyes. I lost my balance, finding myself back on the floor, my hands and knees aching with the sudden contact with the cement.

Desperate to escape this house of nightmares, I scrambled up the steps to the door at the top. I plowed through only to fall against the legs of an unfamiliar woman who stood at the kitchen counter washing lettuce.

She turned to me, confused. Claire? I thought you were at Katelyn’s. You didn’t go after all? Wiping her hands on a towel, she leaned against the counter, studying me as I lay sprawled at her feet.

What? She called me Claire. It couldn’t be true. Was I really in the body of that two-faced, lying, stealing… I couldn’t even think of a good enough name to call her!

Claire? She pressed a hand to