I buried my hands into the sand and called the earth up.
All of it, every last piece I could reach. Power roared through me and bit back the scream that built in my throat. Sand whirled around us, but in my mind all I could see was a wave of the earth pouring over the witches, burying them deep into the ground where they could no longer harm anyone.
In my mind, I saw the sands turn into an ocean that raged on the winds of a storm, a hurricane of the earth that would wipe out those who would do us harm.
Screams erupted around us, cries for help as the world bucked and writhed under me, rising to my call.
I ignored them, feeding my power into the wave I saw in my mind, crashing it over them, swallowing them up. Hands wrapped around my throat. “You fucking bitch!”
The warlock squeezed and I buried my hands deeper into the earth, softening it under us both. I could survive being buried, I was sure of it. Him, not so much. A wave of sand pulled him away from me in a jerk as we sunk past my waist.
The world trembled with the power that surged through me and I reveled in it, feeling . . . unstoppable.
I kept my mouth and eyes shut but the sand still got into them. I didn’t ease off until I could hear nothing but the whisper of sand on sand. Slowly I pulled my hands out, laying them on top of the tiny grains. My face was covered in grit, glued on with sweat.
“Thank you.” The ground seemed to answer with the slightest of rumbles. Not the mother goddess . . . but the earth itself.
From inside my vest Peta shifted, breaking my concentration. “Are you done?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“I have sand in places no cat should have sand,” she spat out, literally, as she climbed from my vest. I was more than a little afraid to open my eyes. What if I still could not see? How in the seven hells would I find my father then?
I opened my left eye first and a sigh of relief slid from me. Though my eyes were gritty with sand, and the backs of them ached from the flash burn, I could see again.
I stood and dusted off my pants and vest. Around us the world was silent, the sand flat and unmoving, though the landscape had shifted. It looked as though I’d pulled the sand out of the desert toward the ocean, creating a new peninsula.
“Holy fucking shit. Was that for real?”
I turned to see Elle approach me, Bram beside her and Cactus pulling up the rear. Elle’s eyes were wide.
“Did you have a good enough view of what I’m capable of?” I crossed my arms, mimicking her earlier stance.
She glanced at Bram, then nodded. “Yeah. You’ve got yourself a deal. A favor then.”
Peta cleared her throat. “Technically, you just did her a favor. You wiped out those looking for her.”
I didn’t answer Elle right away but then said, “You sure that’s what you wanted to say?”
Her lips tightened. “Fine, you fucking well saved our asses. That what you want?”
I nodded. “Yes. Now we can look for my father.”
“You got a picture?”
“No, Jack said you didn’t need one.” My legs trembled and I locked my knees in place. This was not the time to show weakness of any kind. Not to this woman. Whatever her past had been, it had hardened her to the point of seeing others’ plights and feeling no empathy. That was not good.
“Jack? You spoke to that dick?”
My eyebrows shot up. “He spoke highly of you. Said you were the only one with the skills I need.” Okay, so maybe those hadn’t been his exact words, but she was still on the fence. Even after I saved her ass.
“That doesn’t sound like Jack.”
“He said you owed him cookies,” Cactus offered.
Elle glared at him. “I’m not baking any fucking cookies. Do I look like a—”
Bram blew out a sharp breath. “Enough, Elle. Enough. Do this job, you know you want to.”
She glared at him, but there was a twinkle in her eyes too. “Pushy man.”
“You love it. Now let’s do this. We have other tasks ahead of us.”
I liked him, maybe better than I liked her. Or maybe it was because he seemed to be working in my favor.
“I need you to describe him to me, think you can manage?” Elle asked, once more crossing her arms. Defiance radiated from her.
I nodded. “Yes, I can do that.”
“Well, let’s get this fucking show on the road then, shall we?”
Indeed. Time to find my father and straighten out the Rim once and for all.
Yet, I had a feeling our journey was far from over.
Looking back, I had no idea just how accurate that hunch was.
CHAPTER 14
“escribe him then, and tell me his name. Anything you can give me will help. Not only physical shit, but what he’s like.” Elle’s eyes swirled as she spoke.