Earth Shaker: The Fire Heart Chronicles, #2.5

By Juliana Haygert

All she wanted was to be strong ...
 
When alchemists invade her enclave, earth elemental Cora has one order to follow: take the magical animals to safety. Even if that means betraying her heart and leaving everyone she loves behind.
 
**Earth Shaker is a novella in the Fire Heart Chronicles world. Best read between books 2 and 3. First available with the Elementals Boxed Set (2017).
 

 
The Fire Heart Chronicles -- series complete!
Heart Seeker (Book 1)
Flame Caster (Book 2)
Earth Shaker (novella)
Sorrow Bringer (Book 3)
Soul Wanderer (Book 4)
Fate Summoner (Book 5)
War Maiden (Book 6)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliana Haygert
• Release date: Sep 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781393663249

Book preview

1

We had never seen so many of them in one place.

The animals lay on the forest floor, in the harsh grass and against rough tree trunks. Like this, sprawled out and half-sleeping, they looked harmless, like oversized teddy bears. But their peaceful looks didn’t fool me.

These animals were different in their behavior, their power, and their appearance. Their fur was pure white, and when the sun struck just right, it shimmered, like a beautiful iridescent pearl.

And magic flowed through their veins.

Magic more powerful than even mine.

From here, crouched down behind bushes and trees atop a short hill, I could feel their power. It swelled up, washing over me like a wave, pressing me back like a thick wall, pushing against my magic.

So, so powerful.

That was why they weren’t safe here.

Their hunters—our hunters—were coming.

And I was here to stop them.

This is unusual, Marko, my brother, said beside me. The most we’ve seen were, what? Two? Three?

Three, Duke, my cousin, whispered.

I had been with them then, but I remembered seeing only two in the cages back at our enclave. The other one had gotten away and had been captured by our enemies.

We’ll need to call for help. I fished my cell phone from my pocket.

Duke put a hand on my arm. There’s no time for that, Cora. If the alchemists are in the area, we need to do this now.

I looked down at the clueless animals. Two lions, three wolves, one fox, two rabbits, and more. There were thirteen of them, and the most amazing thing was that they were sleeping close together, as if the rabbits weren’t afraid of the wolves eating them.

That was one of the fantastic things about heart animals. They were few and spread out, but when they came together, they didn’t behave like the natural food chain applied to them. Because it didn’t.

We need to go, my brother said. Now.

He was right, I knew that, but I sent a text to our father. Better safe than sorry.

I’ll let Wesh, Nico, and Hanzi know we’re ready. Duke closed his eyes and used his powers. His special gift was telepathy. He said just to say when.

On the horizon, the first orange rays of light peeked out.

My brother looked at me. I nodded. Then, he turned to Duke. When.

I stood and stretched my arms in front of me. I channeled my power and called to the earth. The ground shook for a moment, and then walls sprouted from the ground, surrounding the animals.

The lions woke up with loud roars, the wolves scratched at the rising wall, the bunnies tried to jump over. My wall wouldn’t last long once the animals decided to use their magic to escape.

Go! I barked.

Marko and Duke sprang into action. On the other side of the valley, the brothers, Wesh and Nico, appeared first, followed by their cousin, Hanzi. The three of them advanced toward the animals as well.

The bunnies stood on top of my wall. Hanzi sent a powerful rush of wind toward them, making them fall off the top of the wall.

The animals rammed their cage.

I grunted against the force.

Do it now! I yelled.

With another rush of wind, Hanzi sent our warriors to the top of the wall.

My brother got the darts from his pocket. He opened his hand, palm up, and the darts flew toward the animals.

Sensing it was coming, the animals scattered around their temporary prison. Usually, the darts hit most animals, but some, like the lions and wolves, needed more than one to go to sleep. From here, I couldn’t tell what was happening, though I felt their heavy, desperate footsteps on the ground, and their bodies slamming against my wall, looking for an exit.

Then it happened. Surrounded by magic, one of them ran into the wall, and it broke. I staggered back, gawking at the huge white lion that emerged from the other side. It looked at me and bared its sharp teeth in a low growl.

Shit.

I channeled my power, ready to throw rock bullets at the lion—not to kill, but to hurt enough to make him stay away from me—or to make a massive wall, with me on top. The lion took one step toward me. I raised my hand and—

Something slammed into me from the side, throwing me down and pinning me to the ground.

I looked up at a figure with a shaved head, dark eyes, pale skin, and a mask covering the lower half of his face.

An alchemist.

I yelled and called on the earth. Rocks, the size of my fist, slammed into the alchemist’s head. Grunting, he raised his hands to protect himself, letting go of my arms. I kept sending rock after rock at him while I pushed him away and scrambled to my feet.

I looked up and gasped.

There were alchemists everywhere. My brother was fighting three at the same time. The others weren’t faring any better.. Even the animals were now fighting the alchemists.

We were screwed.

In my shock, my magic faded and the alchemist rose. A shadow appeared in his hand, forming a long line. The shadow solidified, becoming a sharp blade. Thankfully, I hadn’t had many encounters with alchemists in my eighteen years, but I had felt the sharp sting of their daggers before. And I had learned they were skilled fighters.

He lunged at me. I stomped my foot on the ground. The earth moved—a rectangle jutted out in a diagonal path, hitting the alchemist hard and fast in the stomach. The man stumbled backward, a hand hovering over his middle.

You insolent bitch, he snarled.

I loved it when they called me names. 

The alchemist grabbed a vial from the thick belt around his waist. He threw it at me. I knew better than to stand there, so I jumped back, trying to avoid whatever was in that vial. He threw another vial. And another vial. And another.

I kept moving backward, away from the rest of the fight.

We were in my play field and I wouldn’t lose to this guy.

I stomped my foot on the ground. It shook before a hole appeared right under the alchemist. With a surprised scream, the man fell inside the hole. I stomped the ground again and the hole tightened around him, leaving only his head visible. Without help and the necessary tools, this alchemist was down for the count.

I raced back to the fight.

My brother had two opponents now, but he was limping and blood trickled down his left leg. Duke and Hanzi were still fighting. Wesh and Nico were nowhere to be seen. The animals fought too, though I could see a fox and a rabbit down.

Gritting my teeth, I raced into the fight.

In front of me, five alchemists fought a lion and a wolf.

Rocks flew in front of me, hitting the alchemists fast. The men turned toward me. The lion clawed one of the alchemists