Elemental: Six of One, #5

By DeAnna C. Zankich

Kathryn Broch is basking in the first true happiness she's ever known.

The spiritual chaos of the outcaster's everyday life quiets long enough for her to plan her wedding and look forward to her life at Evan MacTavish's side. After sharing a devastating loss in the spring, the couple are stronger than ever and believe they can weather anything the future holds.

At their beloved cabin, Kath and her brother, Kellan, enjoy the end of summer with their friends while the last of the nuptial plans come together. The warm days are long, but the nights lift the veil in the forest allowing ancient entities to roam. The oldest of these beings are the elementals. Born of the land itself, they are energy feeders that cannot be destroyed or relocated, only temporarily distracted from an intended victim.

When a monster that has terrorized locals for centuries returns, the six learn an astonishing truth that leads them into unfamiliar waters. Their collective strengths and skills help them find a solution—but is the problem really solved?

Kath and Evan go joyfully into married life, but they are never free from their one irrefutable truth: the dark in Mount Iolite is different.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DeAnna C. Zankich
• Release date: Dec 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780999293560

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© DeAnna Zankich 2019. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or were used fictitiously. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the copyright owner.

For more information or to contact the copyright owner visit:

www.deannaczankich.com

ISBN: 978-0-9992935-6-0

CONTENTS 

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Acknowledgements

"Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all."

~ Emily Dickinson

Continued from Six of One: Egress

PROLOGUE

Mount Iolite

Labor Day Weekend

Friday

TAMARA CORSERO CLOSED the deli late that Saturday evening. Mount Iolite had been overrun for the long weekend by the annual invasion of a massive group of motorcycle enthusiasts known as The California Charter. Their enormous, customized Harleys rattled the sidewalks and the down canyon road for three days straight until they moved on toward their ending destination in Yosemite Valley. The bikers were mostly polite and gracious and the revenue they brought was surely welcome, but their sheer numbers put a strain on every restaurant and hospitality business within fifty miles.

Her grandparents, Glenn and Nina, were visiting friends back East so Tamara and her uncles had been running the deli for over a week. Between the long hours there and running her own catering business, she was dead on her feet. Honestly, she had no idea how her grandparents had managed this pace for over forty years.

Boys! She called to her two youngsters playing around the back of the building in the last of the daylight. Time to go! Let’s get in the car. Tamara pulled the deli’s front door closed and turned the keys in the two deadbolts. Out back, she heard her oldest, Elias, shrieking laughter as he and his little brother, Paulie, chased each other around between the trash bins.

They’d created an obstacle course back there with some old tires, pallets and boxes. Tamara was glad they had somewhere to run around while she was working with the customers. At five and seven, her sons generated enough energy to power the deli for a month.

As she locked the reinforced screen door and dropped the keys into a designated pocket in her handbag, she expected her children to barrel past her on their way to her car. But the boys were nowhere to be found and their ruckus had ceased altogether. Tamara stood on the narrow stretch of pavement between the deli and the small parking lot that served the businesses on the eastern end of Mount Iolite’s main street.

The rumble of motorcycles could be heard in the distance, mingled with people talking and laughing as they moved around town in the twilight, headed out for dinner or a stroll in the warm summer evening. She listened for her children but only silence returned.

Applying her most authoritative ‘I’ve had it up to my eyes’ tone, she shouted, Elias! Paulie! Mommy’s too tired for games. Come on!

Nothing.

A camper chugged by on the road headed toward the Robbin Lake RV Park, leaving an eerie hush in its wake. The summer-lush aspen leaves shimmied in the warm wind that moved off down canyon, but then there was too much quiet. Her maternal paranoia triggered; Tamara’s heart began to race.

She hurried down the side of the building toward the back, growing more concerned with every step. It had been more than a decade since a child was abducted in Mono County, but the current presence of so many tourists compromised the typical small-town safety of M.T.I.

Rounding the corner of the building, Tamara scanned the shadowy rear alley and was instantly relieved to see her children intact and crouched against the wall just beside the back door of the deli. But their arms were wound tightly around each other and they trembled with tears streaming down their faces. Her boys were both rough and tumble terrors who rarely cried, much less cowered. Panicked by their behavior, she rushed to them, kneeling down.

What’s wrong? What happened?

Elias’ hand shot up and clamped over her mouth, his brown eyes wide with terror. In a husk of a whisper, he said, Mommy, shh, and then his gaze shifted over Tamara’s left shoulder. She swallowed, turning her head slowly to see what had her son’s fearful attention.  

The indigo twilight provided just enough illumination to see the contrast of something moving in the gloomy space between the dumpsters. It had no limbs or any form she could make out—it was just a writhing cylinder that was blacker than the shadows surrounding it. No face; only eyes the size of grapefruits, huge and flaming red. Tamara felt the thing see her. Its awareness slithered into her bloodstream with its serpentine movement. She sensed it gathering strength from her mounting fear.

She spun around and spread her arms wide to cover her boys behind her. Her handbag flew in the process, sending its contents skittering across the pavement between them and the dumpsters. The red-eyed thing glanced at the items as they scattered—keys, wallet, packs of gum, lip balm, compact, comb, a bottle of eye drops. Tamara gaped at the creature as she felt her boys cling to her frantically.

Those red eyes spellbound her. The long black mass rose up between the dumpsters like a cobra charmed out of a hellish basket. It made no sound; it didn’t growl or hiss, but it pressed toward her and her sons with marked, purposeful menace. When it was only inches from her face, she squeezed her eyes closed because she could not bear to look.

Tamara screamed.

CHAPTER ONE

Mammoth Lakes

Labor Day Weekend

Saturday

THE BOUTIQUE BAKERY called Lottie’s Delights had pristine real estate in the Village. Strategically nestled between a high-end jewelry store and an exotic florist, the shop had a view of the soaring granite Minarets through its wall of etched glass. Delicate strains of Chopin drifted from unseen speakers.

The elegant off-white interior drew the eye toward the gleaming row of display cases. Five white iron tables perched along the window, all adorned with pink rosebuds in clear glass vases. It reminded Kath of a posh bake shop in London she’d gone in with Kellan. Every morsel in the cases was a confectionary masterpiece too beautiful to eat—well, not for Prince Sweet Tooth, of course. He’d devoured two pastries while he stood at the counter ordering more to go.

The two women they were meeting gaped at Evan like he was the most delectable dish they’d ever seen as they all shook hands and introduced themselves. He did look especially edible that day in his black jeans, boots and fitted dark gray button-down. The color made the slate in his eyes pop. He was muscular and tan from working outdoors all summer. The sun had kissed his blond hair with golden fire. Kath gave him a little wink of appreciation as he took her hand, following the two ladies to a table near the back of the shop.

She and Evan had been together nearly every moment since Kath and Kellan returned to the Sierras. With only six weeks to the wedding, they’d scrambled to get everything taken care of in Edinburgh before embarking on their first extended stay in Mount Iolite. It had been decades since she and her brother had been in the mountains during summer and the stifling dry heat was most challenging. Kathryn found it impossible to sleep and Kellan was a sneezing mess, plagued by the forest’s late-season spores and pollen. Still, they were both so happy to be there. The excitement of the wedding was wonderfully infectious among their friends.

Although their future plan was to come back to California for their six-month stay just before their annual Halloween performance, this first year had a different agenda. Big Jackson had been in Mount Iolite most of the summer supervising Henry, Evan and his new construction crew while they made the winterizing upgrades to the cabin. Knowing Kathryn and Kellan would need to be in town for the last steps of nuptial planning, he and Maddie went to visit friends in Denver so the kids could use the cabin freely. They would be back a few days before the wedding.

As they sat down to discuss the cake with Lorraine and Angelica, co-owners of Lottie’s Delights, Kathryn took out the leather-bound ledger she’d been using to keep the zillion wedding details organized. A young man in a pristine white uniform brought them coffee and then Angelica sat forward with a warm smile.

First and foremost, congratulations on your upcoming marriage. We’re so pleased for you both.

Thank you. Kathryn’s smile was so deep, it actually ached. That was all right by her. She was beside herself with a joy she’d never experienced and wanted to revel in it for as long as possible.

Evan squeezed her hand. "We’re both really looking forward to it—the wedding and the marriage. Kath’s been teasing me about how fussy I’m being with the preparations, though. She’s calling me groomzilla."

Lorraine laughed lightly. It’s your most special day that you’ll remember for the rest of your lives. Of course you want everything perfect and we’re here to help. She retrieved a notepad and pen from a marble ledge behind her seat. Let me just take down a few specifics. When we spoke on the phone, you said the event would be at the Silver Aspen Resort in Mount Iolite, correct?

Yes. Kath opened her ledger to the ‘schedule’ section. The ceremony is at 6:30pm on Saturday, October 17th outside on their grounds, and the reception dinner will follow immediately in the main dining room. We have 92 confirmed guests.

It’s such a gorgeous venue, Angelica said. Here’s praying for good weather for the ceremony, even though it’s said to be lucky if it rains during your wedding.

Kath was reminded of that old Al Stewart song Year of the Cat where a woman running in the rain in a silk dress looked like a watercolor. She smiled to herself at the elegant image, but her dress wasn’t silk; it was velvet. Lily Guthrie had been working on it for months and was bringing it with her when she and Mae arrived in October. The resort is well-prepared for anything. We’ve been really impressed with their planner. Reaching into a pocket in her ledger, Kath handed Lorraine a business card. Her name is Sheila Kaye. I told her we’d be meeting with you ladies today so she’s expecting your call.

Ah, yes, we know Sheila well. She’s excellent. Angelica tucked the card in a pouch on the cover of her notepad. Do we need to be mindful of any food allergies for the two of you or any of your guests?

Kathryn started to respond when Evan’s earsplitting ring tone made them all jump.

God, sorry. He grabbed the phone and glanced at the caller ID as he turned the volume down. I have to keep it up loud when I’m on jobs because of all the machinery running. Evan turned the phone to Kath so she could read the name displayed: Tamara Corsero.

Kath frowned. Tamara was handling the catering for their rehearsal dinner. You better take it in case there’s a problem.

He nodded, pushing his chair back. If you ladies will excuse me just a moment.

Of course, Angelica said. Take your time. There are so many details to manage.

Evan slipped out the front door of the shop as the young man in the white uniform brought out a white tray laden with cake samples. Kellan had begged to join them on this outing so he could sample all the fancy cakes, too, but she’d promised to bring him a few pieces of the best ones. Glancing through the glass at Evan talking on his phone, his troubled expression concerned her but she tried not to worry about it.

We’ll wait for your handsome fiancé to return before we start, Lorraine said. You’re such a beautiful couple—sincerely.

Thank you so much.

Angelica clasped her hands together, her large diamond-studded wedding band gleaming in the soft light. Please tell us how you met. We love hearing these stories from our clients.

Kath smiled. We met when we were kids in Mount Iolite. In fact, Evan proposed to me for the first time that same day. She started to tell them about him riding up behind her on his bike in his bare feet when he returned to the table.

Everything okay? she asked him.

All good. The call wasn’t about the catering. I’ll tell you later. He kissed Kathryn’s cheek, then grinned at the display on the table. Wow. Good thing I ate a light lunch.

With a delighted smile, Angelica said, Let’s start on the right. These three are our chocolate-on-chocolate options. They all have mousse as the inner layer but different flavors of cake and frosting. The first one is red velvet. She set the three small plates down in front of the bride and groom and the tasting session got underway.

Kath expected the decision to be difficult, but after sampling all twelve cakes, she and Evan merrily agreed on a lemon sponge with whipped cream filling and lemon butter cream frosting. The design they chose was simple: three small tiers with white frosting and delicate sugar flowers in their wedding colors of periwinkle and burgundy. The ladies gifted them slices of the winner and the runners up to take back for the groom’s best man.

In the Jeep heading back toward I-395, Evan told her about Tamara’s call. She and her boys had a run-in with Old Red Eyes last night out behind the deli.

Oh my god, not that jerk again! Are they all right?

Yes, but plenty freaked out. You know how this entity operates—it generates fear that it uses for energy. The more terror in the victims, the bigger its feast. And it loves jackin’ up kids and women. She said her boys hadn’t slept a wink.

Kathryn recalled her own deeply unpleasant encounters with this creature as a child. She frowned. I hate that son of a bitch. Did she tell you the details?

Evan turned off Highway 203 and joined 395 northbound. Some. I was in a hurry to get back inside to you and the cakes so I rushed her along a little. She said she called Henry first but got his voicemail message about being off the radar a few weeks. She wants us to come to the deli with our gear to investigate, even though I told her it probably has nothing to do with that location.

Nope, Kath said. Maybe it was a one-off and it won’t bother them again. That was the first time they saw it, right?

I didn’t ask, actually.

I’ll call her back. Kath had arranged a folder in her phone’s contacts for all the wedding-related numbers and found Tamara’s cell there. The young mother picked up, still sounding a bit panicked.

Hi, Kath. Did Evan tell you what happened to me and my kids?

I got the abridged version. Tell me the rest.

Tamara cleared her throat but her voice still wobbled when she spoke. This thing was in between the dumpsters just ... watching my boys. They were terrified like I’d never seen them. They told me this monster, or whatever it is, just appeared out of thin air while they were playing. It didn’t make any sound; it was just this swirling black mass with huge red eyes. And when I tried to protect them, it rushed at us. Of course, I screamed bloody murder and then it just vanished. She breathed a mirthless laugh. I peed my pants a little, I don’t mind telling you.

I bet. I’ve seen this thing quite a few times—it’s nasty. Have you or your sons ever seen it before?

She paused and Kath heard her walking on a hard floor before a door closed on her end. Tamara lowered her voice. Paulie said he saw it before in the men’s room at the Boulder Diner. It was sometime last year when we took the boys and some of their friends there for pizza. He told me he had to go pee. I went downstairs with him since he was still so little, but I waited for him outside the door. I heard a flush and then he came barreling out like he’d been shot from a cannon.

Kath frowned. He was in a lighted restroom when he saw it?

"I didn’t actually see the bathroom; he went in by himself because he wanted to be a big boy. He just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go for like five minutes. Poor thing was shaking like a leaf and wouldn’t talk at first. I sat on the stairs with him until he calmed down and tried to get him to tell me what happened, but he refused. I don’t think he really believed what he saw. He never mentioned it until last night when he saw it again."

And he’s sure it was the same thing?

Dead sure.

There must have been a light burnt out in that men’s room, Kath said. This entity needs a certain amount of darkness to manifest itself. It sort of pulls the darkness together in a wad, if that makes sense.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Tamara had a deep shiver in her voice. What is it? A demon, a shadow figure, or something else?

None of those things, actually. It’s what Henry’s late uncle called an ‘elemental’. It’s a spirit of place that’s born of the environment. Believe it or not, it’s naturally occurring, like an electrical storm or a dust devil. It’s basically energy but with some form of consciousness. We’ve never been exactly sure how intelligent it is.

That’s horrible, Tamara stated.

What’s more horrible is that elementals can’t be killed. Technically, they’re not alive, but they most definitely exist. They’re all energy feeders, but this one feeds on the fear it generates. We call it Old Red Eyes for lack of a technical term. It’s been here for as long as any of us can remember. We’ve all seen it multiple times.

Evan said, Tell her there are documented cases of sightings from Bodie more than 150 years ago.

Kath relayed that information. "So, there’s no telling how long it’s been here. The shit part is that all we can do is confuse it to distract it from a victim. It won’t ever go away from this area; it’s a product of it. It actually belongs here as awful as that sounds."

Tamara had been listening quietly. Can it be trapped or captured?

It has no tangible mass, so ... no. Kath said that, but her gut tightened slightly making her wonder if they just hadn’t done enough research in that regard yet. We’ll get together with Henry when he comes back and we’ll come up with something.

Can you guys come to the deli in the meantime? The pitch of Tamara’s voice rose slightly. I mean, can you do a protective spell or something to the building so that thing won’t come back?

Kath sighed. The thing is, it’s not really about the building since the structure itself has no life-force energy. From what you’ve told me, it’s probably attracted to your son, Paulie, since they’ve met before.

Oh God!

Tamara, try not to worry. Remember, this thing has no physical body so it can’t hurt people—just scare the crap out of them. That’s what it wants: to create fear. Please explain that to your boys so they know it can’t touch them. Maybe if they understand a little about how it operates, it will help them be less afraid.

It’s not doing much for their mother, she said. And I don’t want to tell Paulie he might be attracting this thing. He’ll lose his little mind. Kath, there’s gotta be something we can do to get it off him.

There are things that Evan and Henry have had success with in the past. Kathryn glanced at Evan who nodded decisively. We’ll get right on this, okay?

There was a deep sigh from Tamara’s end. You have a wedding to plan, Kath. I don’t expect you to do this immediately; I just need to know my kids are safe.

Kath eased the urgency in her voice hoping to offer some comfort. The one sure-fire thing we know is that it cannot form without darkness. Keep the boys in well-lit places and have them sleep with a light on in their room until we can figure out what to do. We’ll take care of it, Tamara. Okay?

I know you will. That’s why I called you. Sounding slightly calmer, Tamara thanked them and hung up.

Kathryn dropped her phone back in her bag. There has to be something permanent we can do with this asshole. Just shooing it away isn’t good enough anymore.

I agree. Henry should be back late tonight. We’ll all put our heads together and figure something out. Evan rested his strong hand on her thigh, giving it a comforting, gently possessive squeeze.

Kath covered his hand with both her own, smiling into his beautiful slate-blue eyes. It’s been so weird with Henry gone. I’m amazed he put off his tribe business so he could stay and help you with our cabin.

I think he was a little anxious about going, to be honest. He’s only met with the tribal elders one other time in his entire life and then he had Fred introducing him to everyone at the table. This time, he’s taking the shaman’s seat. Plus, there’s all the ritual stuff in Fred’s honor that had to take place. It’s a lot for him to manage and process.

Looking out the window toward the jagged teeth of the Mammoth Minarets, Kathryn thought of her dear friend and his new spiritual responsibilities in the wake of Fred Hunter’s passing. She hadn’t seen him since December, and Henry left for the tribal council just before she and Kellan arrived two weeks ago. His absence was palpable. I can’t wait to see him and hear about everything he’s been going through.

Me, too. Mount Iolite isn’t the same without our HH.

No, she said. Everything is so different this time in general, though. Great, but different. It’s like our wedding is shifting the paradigm of how everything used to be.

That’s a good thing, right? His long fingers tightened around hers.

Absolutely. Kath brought his hand to her lips and kissed the back of it. Even with all the changes going on, she hadn’t been able to stop smiling since they arrived at the cabin. She and Evan had been apart for nine months, like they had been most of their lives, but knowing it was the last time they’d have to endure that separation had made it far more bearable. They’d even weathered a deep, emotional storm together with 8,000 miles between them. Kathryn had never felt closer to Evan or more certain of their future as partners.

She smiled at the bakery box on the seat between them, thinking of how thrilled her brother would be to get all that delicious cake. He’d been with Sonya as much as possible since they arrived, but she’d had a retreat group at the compound for the last four days. Kath was missing her friend even though she was just up the hill.

While this extended period of joy was wonderful, it made Kathryn quietly uneasy. Having Old Red Eyes pop up gave her a strange sense of familiarity, like a monster in the mix filled a gap in her experience there. Happiness was an awkward fit for the Brochs, like a beautifully made garment with stitching that chafed the skin. For Kathryn and her brother, there was always something lurking in the dark, waiting to set their very particular