Soul Guard: Elemental, #5

By Rain Oxford

With his greatest enemy freed and the paranormal world in turmoil, Devon Sanders, a private investigator known for his efficiency and discretion, is about to learn what it means to be a wizard. After two years of learning magic, he will find out who was really pulling the strings.

His friends and family are being targeted, his visions turn violent, and choosing the lesser of two evils may prove fatal. All magic comes at a price and Devon has quite a debt, but who will pay it?

Magic is elemental.

Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains violence, disturbing imagery, and strong language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rain Oxford
• Release date: Aug 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386550808

Rain Oxford

Rain Oxford is a retired teacher who has been writing stories since she was twelve. She attended Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. Some of her interests include magic, psychology, and ancient history. She has four children: a Maltese, a Chihuahua, a Great Pyrenees puppy, and a Golden Retriever puppy. The only thing missing in her family is a dragon. When she’s not creating worlds, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, or photographing exotic wildlife.

Book preview

Prologue

I ignored the oppressive sense of death. The warm tingle in my palm reminded me that I had all the power I needed to free myself. At this point, I actually wanted to be purified by the fire elementals again so that the creatures of the black abyss couldn’t touch me. Or... at least they wouldn’t be able to touch me until I entered the shadow pass again.

Yeah, I didn’t think that one through.

I sensed them moving around me, remembered the horror of their eye-less faces, and was glad there was no light. Hunt insisted I learned to use the shadow pass on my own and, unfortunately, he was a sink or swim person. With the wisdom of follow your instincts, he dropped me into the darkness and vanished.

Although I knew I didn’t actually have to travel in the shadow pass to reach my destination, it made me feel more accomplished to walk. Well, stumble. It wasn’t easy to walk on soft, uneven ground in absolute darkness with extra gravity.

I focused on my uncle’s mind. It was usually blocked, but I had been in his mind before, so I could do it again.

The instant I detected it, I hit the ground hard and light returned to the world. I dusted dirt off my jeans as I stood, then groaned. What the hell am I doing here? I asked aloud. I was standing in front of the tower. Four perpetually lit torches surrounded the tower.

And I was alone.

Why would I arrive here when I’m trying to find my uncle? A harsh yowl made me look down, where Ghost was glaring at me. What the hell are you doing here?

Instead of answering, he vanished.

Chapter 1

You don’t have to hit him between the eyes. You don’t even have to make a kill shot. Most time, you can incapacitate your opponent without endangering anyone’s life, but if it comes down to you or him, do what you have to do.

How am I supposed to know whether to kill or maim him?

Use your intuition and don’t second-guess yourself. Not trusting my intuition was how I ended up falling into John’s trap in the first place. Of course, I wouldn’t have gotten involved with the paranormal world if it hadn’t been for him, either.

I heard you should never aim a gun at someone unless you’re willing to shoot them.

That’s not always the case. Bluffing does wonders in this job. After three back-to-back cases, I stopped five armed bank robbers from a heist that took them a week to plan with not a single bullet on me.

You get hired to stop bank robbers?

Actually, no. I just happened to be there. Bluffing isn’t always about threatening; you have to know whether the person is the fight or flight type. Some people will back down if you appear tougher, while others will attack. I have prevented fights by pretending to be harmless and clueless.

Well, you have your intuition to guide you.

Yes, and they saved my life numerous times before I knew I was a paranormal. The truth is, a gun can save your life or the life of someone else, but you can’t take back a bullet. This gun has slapped more people than it shot.

That explains the dents in it.

Actually, that’s because bashing it against padlocks is effective. It was my backup gun, so it wasn’t as beat-up. My preferred one had vanished into thin air on Dothra in an impressive display of magic. The next time I saw Langril, I was going to make him teach me how to do it. Now, don’t forget about the kickback. Focus.

I am focused, he said. I stepped aside and let him do it himself. Henry pulled the trigger and lowered the gun to examine his shot. I missed.

By less than half an inch. For your first time using a gun, that’s pretty—-

He cut me off by raising it and firing again. This time, the bullet hit the dummy between the eyes. He set the weapon down and turned to me. I understand how this is more efficient than shifting when humans are involved, but I would prefer not to use silver bullets.

I nodded. I only keep them on hand for vampires. Besides, human witnesses were not my biggest concern in a situation that required silver bullets. Let’s go pick up Scott.

Are you sure you don’t want to wait until after your mother paints his nails pink and puts extensions in his hair?

Oh, she’s already done that by now. And it’s a wig.

Henry sighed. You do realize your mother wanted a daughter, right?

I rolled my eyes. No shit. She screamed when Joseph got me a haircut. I’ll pay for Scott’s therapy when the time comes.

He enjoys the attention.

We reached the parking lot of the firing range when I felt a prickling sensation in the back of my mind, like I had forgotten something important. Did we lock the office? Go ahead and pick up Scott and some lunch while I go back to the office. I checked my phone to see if I had missed any calls. It didn’t show any notifications.

Do you normally get work on your first workday back? he asked.

Normally, yes. It was the first Monday after my fourth semester at Quintessence ended and I was ready to get back to my regular job, but I hadn’t informed anyone that I had returned yet because I wanted to give Henry a chance to settle in. I’m sure it’s fine. I wasn’t sure it was fine. I bet no one even knows I’m back. I had a hunch that someone knew I was back and was waiting at the office.

* * *

I used to be a regular private investigator. I did my job discreetly and, although my number was hard to come by, I had plenty of business. Most of my work consisted of things like uncovering embezzlement in large corporations or spying on husbands of wealthy, spoiled wives. The clients who came to me did so because they wanted answers fast and quietly.

When I was eleven years old, I found out my best friend, Astrid, was a vampire who was being tormented by her grandfather. Instead of going to my parents and vampire-proofing my house, I invited her in and helped her. I woke up to find my father dead, my mother bleeding out, and Astrid sitting on the floor, covered in their blood, so I shunned the paranormal community altogether.

Then, nearly twenty years later, I took a case at a paranormal university called Quintessence, and I discovered that I would never live a normal life. I discovered that I was a wizard. As much as I wanted to get as far away from the paranormal world as I could, my two roommates, Henry and Darwin, taught me that they weren’t all killers.

Henry was a jaguar shifter, but not like any other. Although he was born here, his mother was from another world, where shifters ruled. Other than the fact that he could turn invisible, choose between being regular-sized or the size of a horse, and regulate his own blood, Henry was an ordinary jaguar. He was also a trained thief, thanks to Luana and Matheus Lycosa, who kidnapped Henry from his real mother as an infant, exploited him his entire life, killed his wife, and captured his son. Henry recently got his son back and cut Luana and Matheus out of his life.

Darwin was half fae, half wolf shifter, and all mouth. He was a genius and fiercely loyal, but he was nearly ten years younger than me and I couldn’t take more than a few hours of him at a time. His jokes were older than me, he was messy and forgetful, he took his pranks way too far, and his cheekiness was going to get him eaten. There was also the fact that if anyone touched his skin, it would hurt him and he would see the person’s death.

Soon after I learned that I was a wizard, I discovered that Joseph Sanders wasn’t my father. Instead, my father was an evil wizard named John Cross, who killed his own daughter because she wasn’t powerful enough for her to be useful to him. John could control minds, while his brother could see visions. To protect my friends, I killed John.

Except, nothing is that damn simple in the paranormal world.

Because John used his power to steal my mother away from his brother, Vincent Knight, might be my father instead. I had both John’s ability to control minds and Vincent’s ability to see visions, since they got the power from their father, Arthur. Fortunately, I inherited the one power of Arthur’s that they didn’t; intuition. Furthermore, the girl John killed wasn’t actually his daughter, but he had two twin boys he never knew about, and at least one of the boys had mind control.

I also ended up with a mortal enemy, who was a wizard from another world. There was a tower far below the university that had four doors to four different worlds. Each of these worlds contained the pure ancestors of our paranormal factions: wizards, vampires, shifters, and fae.

These pure versions were also about a hundred times more dangerous than our diluted versions. Because the paranormals are so powerful, the doors need to be opened with a key. Logan Hunt, the headmaster of Quintessence, Vincent Knight, and Keigan Langril, each had a key when I first learned about it. Langril was a quirky professor who happened to be a pure wizard from Dothra. He also trapped Astrid in Dothra and then told me she might not have been the one to kill Joseph and hurt my mother.

In fact, Astrid’s grandfather wasn’t related to her at all; he was the familiar of another wizard of Dothra, named Krechea. According to Langril, Krechea was as evil as they came. While Krechea hadn’t done anything to me personally, he did try to kill Langril’s daughter, and he had tried to train Astrid to be one of his warriors.

I recently attained the fourth key which, other than allowing me access to the shadow pass, didn’t seem to do a whole lot. I had been warned I would have to sacrifice what was most precious to me to get the key, but the alternative was letting Krechea have it or letting the boundaries between the worlds come undone. I still wasn’t entirely sure what I sacrificed.

Soon after I got the fourth key, Krechea escaped to Earth, along with a number of his followers. While I wasn’t sure how many of them were here, I knew they were eager for more power and willing to kill anyone to get it. I had one of the four keys, so I was one of their targets. Because the keys fused into our magic as soon as we accepted them, the only way to get it from us was to kill us.

* * *

As I pulled into my usual spot, I saw a thin, tall woman with bleach-blond hair and dark brown roots. She was wearing a dark blue sundress and flip-flops. I got out, and looked around. Something was off about this. Not dangerous, but definitely not right.

The woman was waiting for me outside, shaking in the warm summer weather, and studying the closed sign on my door. I was just glad I had a door. Not long before I started my fourth semester at the paranormal university, my office had been destroyed by a drug dealer who was trying to kill his own son. After Henry got the insurance worked out, I hired a crew to clean the place up and replace the windows and door. I didn’t see it again until I returned from Quintessence, but it looked just like it had before it was destroyed.

Can I help you? I asked.

She turned to me. Her cheeks were pink and her blue eyes were puffy from crying, but they were dry. I really hope so. Are you Mr. Sanders?

I am. I unlocked the door and held it open for her. Are you cold?

She went inside, shaking her head furiously, and sat down. My husband is missing, she said frantically.

Okay. Have you contacted the police and how long has he been missing?

They won’t even talk to me. And I don’t know that he’s missing. Maybe I’m the one who’s missing. She lowered her gaze a little, not willing to look me in the eyes. She probably subconsciously sensed my power.

Tell me what happened.

He was working late at the office and I called him. We argued. I wanted him to come home and accused him of something. I don’t remember what. I got in the car and drove to see him, but it was raining really hard. I was in an accident and woke up in the hospital four days ago with no memory of what happened. The doctor said I should recover completely. The problem is, I can’t remember my name, my husband’s name, or my address. I snuck out of the hospital when I remembered my husband. He’s got to be so worried about me.

Hang on, the doctor told you that you would be fine, but he didn’t tell you your name or notify your next of kin?

She frowned as if it hurt her to think. I think he was distracted or something.

What was the doctor’s name?

She shook her head. I don’t remember. Everything is still blurry.

Maybe you should go back to the—-

No! I need to find my husband! Please help me find him.

I can help you, but I need something to go on. You can recall the night before the accident, right?

A little bit.

Okay. Close your eyes and go as far back as you can remember. Tell me every detail you can remember. Every color, street name, anything you might have passed.

She nodded and closed her eyes. As she did, I released my magic to seep into her mind. I wasn’t controlling her; I just wanted to see what she could remember. It felt foggy, which was unusual.

As her memories unfolded, I saw her getting into a blue Cadillac. It was night and heavy rain prevented me from seeing any street signs. She was driving through a four-way when movement caught her eye. A large black car sped towards her, gaining speed instead of losing it. The woman tried to turn out of the way, which was when I saw a street sign.

She opened her eyes and I released her mind. I don’t remember anything. Not even what color my car is.

I don’t think it was your car, I said.

She frowned. How do you know? And why would I get in someone else’s car?

It was the only car in your driveway and you had a key, which is the why. There was a crumpled cigarette in the ashtray and you have no stains on your teeth, so I’m betting it wasn’t yours. I pulled my phone from the clip on my belt and called Darwin.

The ringing went on for more than a minute before he finally picked up. Yo. Hang on. The alarm is gonna go off as soon as you open it, so do that last. You remember the code? Great. You don’t know me, I don’t know you. Sorry, bro, I’m back.

What the hell are you getting up to?

Oh... um... I’m just running a quest in an RPG. D’you need something?

I need you to get hospital records of an accident that happened at the intersection of Laura Street and Hamilton Street in the last week. It was a blue Cadillac. The only passenger was a woman, mid-thirties, blond, blue eyes, thin, with memory loss.

Give me a minute.

Can you get to them on your computer?

I’m not at my computer. Like I said, give me a minute. I was put on hold. A few minutes later, he picked it back up. Okay, so not a minute. There’s been no accident on either street involving any vehicle in the last week.

Okay, maybe she was in there for a while. Go back about a—-

Yeah, did that, too. Nothing matched that description in the last month. However... there was a car crash two years ago involving thirty-four-year-old Julia Emerson in a car matching your description. She was the victim of a hit-and-run on that intersection, but...

What’s wrong? And why does that name sound familiar?

That was two years ago, but other than that, everything about her condition is missing.

Missing as in the staff was struck with a critical fit of laziness and forgot to update their records?

No, missing as in wiped on purpose.

Figures. I lowered the phone. Does the name Julia Emerson mean anything to you? I asked. She shook her head. I put the phone to my ear, thought about it, and lowered it again. How did you find me?

Oh... she quickly pulled a folded note out of her pocket. This is the only thing I had on me. She unfolded it and laid it on my desk. On it was an old phone number and my office address.

I put the phone back to my ear and asked which hospital. Fortunately, I had a contact at the hospital she had been admitted to. Do you have any information about her husband?

Nothing. I even checked her out. No criminal activity or a citation. There’s nothing to find about her.

Who paid for her hospital bills?

That’s also missing.

Thanks for your help, Darwin. If you’re working on something involving a theft, call Henry and get his input.

Ha ha, theft... that’s funny. You’re funny, bro. I’ll talk to you later. He hung up.

I set my phone down. The hit-and-run could have been an accident, but no one erased hospital records on accident. Furthermore, I remembered where I recognized her name from. She had called me and asked for an appointment, which she never showed for. That was a few months before I ever started at Quintessence.

Her dress was clean since the hospital had probably washed it, but if they found the note, why would they put it with her dress and not her wallet? The piece of paper wasn’t even a business card and the phone number hadn’t worked in a long time, so I was surprised the hospital didn’t throw it away. Maybe someone took her wallet and didn’t think anything of the note.

I need to go to the hospital and check something out, but I can’t do that until six. I have a kid at home, so I can’t let you stay with me. I’ll check you into a hotel room and get back with you in the morning.

So you can help me? she asked, hopeful.

Definitely. My phone rang and Henry’s name popped up on the screen, so I answered it.

Why did Darwin just call me and ask questions about the response time of the NYPD to the alarm systems of different establishments?

How would you know that? You don’t live in New York.

That is what I told him. He said you directed him to me.

What establishments?

Veterinary clinics and zoos.

My phone beeped softly. Hang on. I put him on hold and answered the incoming call. Hello?

Whatever you do, if Darwin calls you, don’t tell him anything.

Hi, Maseré. What’s he up to this time? Maseré Mason, Darwin’s father, was the strongest alpha wolf shifter in North America, yet no one would know it from his parenting techniques. He adored Darwin and treated the young shifter like a frail doll. I knew a lot of it stemmed from guilt over Darwin’s inability to be touched.

Any other father probably would have forced Darwin to be independent. Up until recently, Darwin had been unable to shift, and despite the unconditional love Maseré shoved down his throat, he was afraid his father would drive him off if his wolf was revealed. Unlike Darwin, who was usually extremely peaceful, his wolf was an alpha just as dominant as Maseré’s.

Personally, I thought there couldn’t have been a better parent for Darwin in the world. Instead of trying to make Darwin into a proper pack member, Maseré encouraged Darwin to be himself. No one had a mind quite like Darwin’s, and Maseré never asked for anything else.

He was, however, a little overprotective.

I have no idea, other than that he’s out for revenge.

Well, I definitely won’t tell him anything I don’t know about the NYPD. Got to go. I hung up before he could argue and put Henry back on. He’s looking for revenge.

I will help him then. Goodbye.

Yep. Bye. I put my phone down. Sorry. I have crazy friends. We started for the door when my phone rang again. With a sigh, I opened the door for her. My car is unlocked. I’ll be just a second.

She went outside with a nod and I grabbed my phone. I recognized the number. Hey, Dev, Marcus said brightly.

When Marcus was sixteen, he witnessed his father kill his mother and police failed to protect him. I took him in until I graduated and between my intuition and his computer skills, we didn’t have any problem. He got enough temp jobs to feed his electronics addiction, and once he was of legal age, he started his own private security business.

Then, while I was attending my fourth semester at Quintessence, he tracked me down and discovered the paranormal world. Soon after, he was shot by his father, Simon Sinclair, and the only way he could be saved was to be turned into a vampire.

Hi. Everything okay? I heard hushed speaking in the background. Are you with Darwin?

Oh, yeah, we’re just... you know... hanging out. Playing an RPG on the comp—- I heard someone hit him and whisper something. No... not on the computer. On the phone. We’re playing an RPG on our cell phones.

You both suck at lying. What do you need? I looked out the glass front door to see Julia sitting safely in the passenger seat of my car.

I just wanted to let you know that someone is on your tail. I haven’t been able to find out who because they screw up my tech.

Did you bug my office?

Of course not. I bugged your car.

I told you my magic would interfere.

Yeah, but everyone has a pattern of interference. Trust me; someone with magic is following you. If I’m not off, at least three someones. He was definitely thriving as a vampire, but he was still paranoid. Although Maseré took Sinclair into custody and promised Marcus would never hear from the man again, Marcus had spent too much of his life looking over his shoulder to get over it quickly. I was a little surprised Maseré didn’t kill Sinclair.

Alright. I’ll keep an eye out. Just make sure Darwin doesn’t get in trouble, I said. When he scoffed, I sighed. "Caught. Make sure he doesn’t get caught."

Can do. Thanks, Dev. Laters. He hung up.

I put the phone in its harness, stepped outside, locked up, and got in the car. Ten minutes later, I pulled into a motel. Is this okay? I asked.

She looked down at her hands. I don’t have any money.

I knew that. You probably left your wallet at home when you went out. Sit tight and don’t talk to anyone.

You think someone might be trying to hurt me? she asked.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Lock the door. I took my keys, got out, and went into the office.

* * *

The first thing I saw when I shut my apartment door behind me were big, weepy, amber eyes. Scott was standing in the corner, silently begging me to save him. What did you do?

I shifted in the hall.

Oh, that’s bad, Kitten. Did you get five or six years in time out?

Five minutes because I’m five.

You got off easy. You’d better turn around and do it before your dad gives you more time, I said. As if realizing what he was doing, he jerked around to face the wall. I went to the kitchen, where Henry was standing by the fridge with his head on the counter. There was a shredded parenting book all over the floor. I don’t know how well those work on shifter kids.

He’s been in there for an hour, he said. His expression was more distraught than Scott’s. The book says not to let him out until he’s done the full time facing the corner.

Have you tried modifying it? Maybe give him ten minutes but let him face any way he wants. Does he know why what he did was wrong?

The book says to make him tell me what he did wrong.

"He told me he went outside and shifted, so he knows what he did. Does he know why it was wrong? You took him out of the ‘wild’ of the human world and he spent months running around free at the university. In less than three months, he’s going to go back into the paranormal environment."

He must know why he can’t shift around humans.

These parenting books are suggestions and guidelines based on human psychology. You know how he thinks more than anyone, but you can’t reach him unless he knows why what he did was wrong. I would make sure if I were you.

You have a case? Henry asked, turning his attention to the noodles he was preparing on the stove for Scott’s lunch.

Looks like it. A woman named Julia Emerson came to the office this morning wanting help. She was involved in a car accident two years ago and woke up in the hospital four days ago with amnesia. Since then, she remembered having an argument with her husband and trying to drive to his workplace.

And you suspect foul play? he asked.

How did you know?

Because you have her name, so the only way you wouldn’t know everything you need to know about her already is if her files were removed.

I think you’re going to be perfect for the job, I said. I looked over to see Scott with his face against the wall. He was also tapping rhythmically with his hand on the back of his neck. I’m going to the hospital to see if anyone remembers anything. It looks like she might have been in a coma for two years. I’m glad to get back to human cases. Do you want to come?

Not this time. He didn’t want to leave Scott twice in one day. Unless you think you’ll need help.

No, I got it. I’m pretty sure it’s been five minutes.

You can come out now, Kitten, Henry said. The five-year-old didn’t move; he just kept tapping his neck.

Did Darwin ever get back to you with the records the Foxes took? After Luana and Matheus took Scott from Henry, they dropped the baby off at an orphanage and tricked Henry into believing he killed his own wife. Since this wasn’t the first time they convinced him that he killed someone and that his jaguar was out of control, he agreed to stay away from his son for the baby’s safety. Only when he got Scott back did he realize how bad the child’s situation had been.

Joshua and Janet Fox did numerous experiments on Scott, somehow knowing he was a paranormal. How much they knew, how they got their information, what they did exactly, and why they did it was still unknown.

When Scott had hurt his arm at the university because he was running in the hall and slipped on an ice patch, Darwin and I took him to the infirmary. He took one look at the medical equipment and exam table and started screaming. The only one who could calm him was Henry.

No, not yet. It looks like they were notoriously bad at computers, so they kept everything on paper, and most of their records were destroyed in a fire set on purpose when they were busted. We may never know.

There was a way to find out; I had offered several times to induce a vision to show me what he went through, but Darwin insisted that was the worst thing I could do, considering the experiments were designed for a paranormal.

Well, you know what to do to help him get better.

His eyes widened slightly as if I said something completely insane. You met Matheus and Luana. I have no idea how to comfort him.

Of course you do; do the opposite of everything they did. Just hug him, compliment him, and tell him how important he is to you.

I don’t understand.

Tell him you love him even when he does things that are wrong and always tell him when you’re proud of him. And when in doubt, call Maseré.

* * *

I almost decided not to go to the hospital after watching the news. One of the main roads between my apartment and the hospital had collapsed for no apparent reason. There was also an increase in the number of car crashes, either because people witnessed strange lights or a cluster of four or five cars would suddenly stall out in the middle of the road.

Instead, I told Henry to call me if the situation got more serious or if they figured out what exactly was going on. As I stepped off the stairwell onto the first floor, a trashcan started wobbling. I reached out and stopped it with my hand instinctively. The only reasonable conclusion was that some critter had crawled inside before Kate, the apartment manager, brought it in from the alley. Cautiously, expecting a scared animal to jump out, I lifted the lid.

It was empty.

And then the lights started blinking out. Seriously? I asked aloud. Nothing answered me, so I replaced the lid and left.

The traffic was backed up, but I didn’t see anything particularly wrong. At half past six, I arrived at the hospital and parked in the visitor lot. I would have called, but my phones had been fried, smashed, submerged in water, and taken into evidence dozens of times in the past five years. Needless to say, I lost a lot of numbers.

On the way in, I paused, sensing that I was being watched. Of course, I was in a public place, so I was bound to be seen. I figured I was just being paranoid after what Marcus said.

There were a number of people sitting in the waiting room, but nobody looked terribly rushed. I didn’t recognize any of the nurses behind the desk. Can I help you? one of the nurses asked.

Is Karen Greenfield working tonight? I knew she was, it was just more polite to ask. Since I never read the woman’s mind, I couldn’t track her.

Yes, but she can’t have personal visits.

"It’s not