Fire (The Elementals Book Four)

By Dominic Bergfield

Markus and company find themselves broken in both body and spirit after their run-in with Cain. As the group discusses their next steps, differing priorities causes high tension between supposed allies. Markus is unable to abandon his quest for vengeance and starts taking desperate measures to bring himself closer to a rematch with his most hated adversary. Unwilling to be caught unprepared again, Markus sets his plans for an Elemental War into motion. A deadly conflict the likes of which neither side has ever witnessed is fast approaching. Markus wants a war, but is he ready for the consequences of such a decision? Witness the exciting conclusion to the Elementals saga!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dominic Bergfield
• Release date: Mar 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798201484224

Dominic Bergfield

Dominic Bergfield is a self-published author of the Elementals series as well as numerous other short stories. A lover of all stories, whether through books, video games, or movies, he sought out an education from Full Sail University to learn to better hone his craft. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment in 2018 and has since dedicated himself to gathering even more experience through various small writing projects. When not busy with his books, Dominic is an avid gamer and is always looking for new experiences.

Book preview

Fire

Copyright 2023 Dominic Bergfield

Published by Dominic Bergfield at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Elementals Reading Order:

Earth

Water

Air

Fire

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI

Chapter XII

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIV

Chapter XV

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVIII

Chapter XIX

Chapter XX

Chapter XXI

Chapter XXII

Chapter XXIII

Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXV

Chapter XXVI

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Prologue

"Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice.

Injuries are revenged;

crimes are avenged."

-Samuel Johnson-

Heavy boots thudded on the tiled floor outside my office. Men and women bustled about in a soothing drone of activity. Several individuals shouted orders, all vying to be heard above the noise. It was orchestrated chaos, and I felt in my element. I sighed contentedly. The base had never been so busy.

I rose from my desk and strode to the window, looking down at my kingdom. I detested having windows in my offices, but a base of this size made one necessary. I couldn’t be everywhere at once, but my presence must always be felt.

Men and women ran drills in the courtyard. There was jogging in formation and typical fitness exercises, but I hardly gave them a glance. I cared far more about the ones working with their elements. Small orbs of flame and thin blades of ice flew through the air, hitting targets more than 10 meters away. Earth Elementals rained down rocks of various sizes only for them to be swatted aside casually by invisible gusts of wind caused by Air Elementals. Masters of their abilities, every last one of them. This was the race that deserved supremacy over the planet. Elementals are the only ones who understand the importance of nature. One day, Elementals will overthrow the humans that defiled this world with their foul existence.

Markus will feel firsthand the consequences of obstructing this goal. This required a personal touch.

Chapter I

The chain rattled as my small fists collided into the punching bag. I focused on my breathing, letting my movements become instinctual. I exhaled sharply on each strike, carefully controlling my body’s functions. I was in control of myself and my surroundings. The familiar calm that came from feeling my blood pump washed over me. My senses heightened and my mind was blank. Nothing existed but the pattern of strike, strike, breathe. My body was a machine going through processes that were out of practice. I slowed to a stop and wiped the sweat off my brow. My muscles ached and it was a pleasant feeling that I haven’t experienced in weeks, if not months. It felt good. Recovering from my gunshot wound and a few too many of Ellen’s brownies had put me out of shape. I hadn’t realized how much I missed exercise until I got back in the gym.

I stretched, popping joints and loosening tight muscles. The only thing missing was Markus. He’d been talking about starting an army a few weeks ago, but lately he’d been uncharacteristically absent from the gym. He would have been good for sparring with, plus he didn’t look too bad without a shirt. It wasn’t just that he’d not been obsessively working out lately, he’d been acting weird too. He was cold and distant, which didn’t fit somebody who was the living equivalent of the element fire. If anybody was allowed to be cold, it was me. At least I could control ice.

The door squeaked open noisily, the sound filling the room. I turned towards the door, hoping Markus had gotten over his funk and decided to join me. Ellen peeked in sheepishly.

Hello there. I didn’t think I’d have company, Ellen said as she entered.

What’s wrong with a bit of company? Don’t be shy.

Ellen rubbed the back of her head. I’m not shy. I’m just not used to having an audience is all.

I put my hands on my hips. It’s just a bit of exercise. What’s so bad about it?

Well, maybe nothing inherently. I just feel uncomfortable being watched, okay?

I laughed. You just earned yourself a gym buddy, Ellen.

She groaned. Any way I can change your mind?

It’s your lucky day. I got stuff to do, plus I’m beat. The punching bag is too.

You can’t be any worse than Markus. Do you have any idea how many bags we’ve had to replace because of him?

He sure burns through them, I said, chuckling as I walked out.

Markus was pretty rough on things, equipment, his enemies, and himself most of all. That would explain the funk he’s in, but not what was causing it. He doesn’t have anything to beat himself up over. We’ve hardly even left the mansion the past few weeks. We’ve all been trying to recover, both mentally and physically, from what happened at Cain’s facility in Texas. Could that be his problem? He had no reason to be upset. None of it was his fault. It was mine. I brought us all right into Cain’s hands. If I hadn’t brought us there, none of us would have been hurt. Markus almost died from my mistake. His blood would have been on my hands. I do a better job of almost killing Markus as an ally than as an assassin.

I tried to shake off those thoughts. This wasn’t about me, it was about Markus. I could feel bad about myself later. I was more concerned about Markus. He was the one who had this grand plan of going to war with Cain, and now he seemed to have forgotten that entirely. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about a full on assault against Cain and his forces. Unless Markus could somehow make a miracle happen, it seemed suicidal. I only cared about seeing that boyish grin of his, even if cheering him up would drive him right back to preparing for this war of his. I just missed him.

I came into the living room on my way to the staircase at the front of the house. I stopped, forgetting about Markus as I spied Stefan. He was sitting on the couch, watching TV. His head was slumped to the side. He wasn’t watching TV after all. He was asleep. I was looking for Markus, but there was no way I was passing up such a golden opportunity.

I crept over towards him, silent as the vacuum of space. I rounded the couch and caught sight of my prey. Stefan was out like a light and snoring softly. He may have been out cold, but he was about to get colder. I held my hand out, poised in the air above him as if I was blessing him. The air in front of my hand grew colder and a small cube of ice formed. I smiled to myself as I lined up my shot. I flicked two fingers and down the ice fell, straight into Stefan’s shirt.

Stefan shot up straight, gasping and flailing. He shouted in Italian, which I assumed was various swears, as he shook the ice out of his shirt. I laughed hysterically as he yelled at me.

"What is wrong with you?"

I struggled to quit laughing long enough to respond. Why do you think I did something?

He stared at me incredulously. How else would ice have gotten in my shirt?

So just because it’s ice, a Water Elemental had to have done it? That’s profiling, Stefan.

He dragged his hand down his face. "Dio, uccidimi ora. Did you want something or did you just come to bother me?"

Have you seen Markus?

Just in passing. We haven’t talked much lately. Why?

I don’t know. I figured I’d see what’s wrong with him. I was gonna go check his room.

If he wanted to talk, I’m sure he would.

You don’t know anything about Markus. He doesn’t open up unless pressed, even then it's a solid maybe.

"And your plan is forcing him to talk? That'll help."

I hesitated for a moment. Well, I can’t just let him bottle it up. Leaving that stuff locked up makes it fester.

You can do whatever you want, but you shouldn’t have to interrogate him. He’s your boyfriend, right? You should just trust him and wait to talk. I don’t care though, he said, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

I sighed and walked away, not wanting to talk anymore, but also not wanting to let Stefan know that his words had an effect on me. He had a point, but I’d sooner die than let him know that. I left the living room, but not before looking back at Stefan. He’d laid back down and was resting. I hated that he made me doubt myself. Markus had done the same thing to me when I had first met him. It made me feel so out of control.

I reached the staircase and looked up, foot on the bottom step. What should I do? Markus could be going through a rough time and really need help. He’s never asked for help before and I doubt that he ever could. Markus shoulders every burden he comes across, like he’s trying to fix everything himself. He’s not alone. He has friends, people who care about him. We can help him, if he lets us. The only problem was that he wasn’t letting us. Stefan was right about forcing Markus to talk, though. What if what was bothering him was personal?