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“You’re okay,” she said, forcing a calmness into her voice that she certainly didn’t feel. “You’re with friends.”
She might never have even spoken, for all the notice Trina seemed to take.
“I know you,” Trina said, voice low but edged with hysteria. “You … you killed Felicity Barnes!”
“WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?” DOYLE ASKED, DROPPING down onto the chair behind Russell’s desk.
Camille propped a hip on the edge of the other desk, her expression grim. “We’ve been doing some more research into this elemental circle of Kirby’s.”
He accepted the coffee Russell offered with a grunt of thanks and tried to ignore the niggle of fear in his gut. “And?”
“According to legend, the circle was one of the most powerful forces of nature to evolve during the dawn of time. It’s said that the gods themselves split the force into five elements, to protect the Earth and all its species. It’s also said that if the elements were ever rejoined as one, the Earth itself would be torn apart.” She grimaced. “Granted, that’s not likely to happen, but joining the elements of earth, air, fire and water would certainly create a dangerous force of energy.”
He frowned. “Not that dangerous, given that Kirby apparently did join the circle when she was eleven. All it did was put a monster who deserved death into a wheelchair.”
“Not exactly true.” Russell tossed a folder across to him. “I’ve been digging around in old newspaper articles. Eighteen years ago, a very centralized quake hit Melbourne. It happened in the dead of night, in the midst of a freak storm, and the only place to be hit was a certain governm
ent facility caring for unwanted teenagers. One building was partially destroyed, and a child was killed. Several other children were injured, as well as a nurse and a caretaker who were in the building at the time.”
He opened the folder and flipped through the reports. There were images of destruction and terrified children. Kirby wasn’t among them, though why he thought he would recognize her he wasn’t entirely sure. He dropped the folder back onto the desk.
“So what you’re saying is that she caused this quake by forming the circle?”
Camille nodded. “But because she was one of five, the power was, in a sense, muted—or at least controlled. But imagine that power all placed in one body.”
“It would be damn near unstoppable,” Russell intoned. “And that’s what we’re facing, buddy boy.”
“Not yet, we’re not. Kirby and Trina are still alive.” And would remain that way, no matter what the cost—or what he had to give up.
“Yes,” Camille agreed. “But two others are dead, and while Helen managed to thwart the witch’s plans to grab her power, Rachel Grant did not. I have no doubt this is the reason she was able to summon and control two pairs of manarei as well as the zombies. No witch, light or dark, could perform spells that strong so close together without suffering some side effects.” She shuddered. “No wonder Seline was so determined to stop this.”
Doyle rubbed a hand across his eyes. There might have been three of them, but the odds, it seemed, were decidedly on evil’s side. “Have we any idea what abilities she’s stolen?”
“Given what happened inside Trina’s house, Trina is obviously earth, and it would have been her power that caused both quakes. From what Kirby has said and what we’ve discovered, it seems she is the binder, so that leaves fire and water.”
“The witch tried lashing me with fire when she locked me in that water tank,” he murmured. “So she’s definitely got that one. What power does water give her?”
Camille shrugged. “She could call in ice and freeze. She could change the course of any nearby water.”
“And Kirby? Can she do anything more than call a web of lightning to her fingers?” Because if she couldn’t, she was seriously outgunned.
“There’s not much known about binders, because they’re extremely rare.” Camille’s expression was one of annoyance. She hated not knowing. “In theory, she should only be able to use the power of all the elements when they are bound together, but it’s obvious she can draw energy from everything around her.”
“What about the wind?” he asked.
Camille frowned at him. “What about it?”
“Well, she sleepwalked the other night, and when I questioned her about it the following morning, she said she talked to Helen through the wind,” he said. “And she’s said that Helen used to read their future in the wind’s whispers. I didn’t think that was something storm witches could do.”
“It’s not—but it is something an air element could do. Which would explain why she was number one on the witch’s list. Air is perhaps one of the most powerful elements, because a person cannot live without it.” Camille frowned. “I wonder what she did with her powers? It’s a damn unusual thing to do, I’m telling you that.”
He sipped his coffee for a moment, remembering the words of a ghost. “Is it possible to gift your powers to someone else?”
“Not usually. I’ve seen it happen once, but the two people were related. Why?”
“I think that’s what Helen intended to do when she stripped her powers. She wanted to give them to Kirby.”
“What?” Camille’s voice was gratingly sharp. “Why would you say that?”
