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“Adam?” I spun to find Chris staring at me. A patch of red covered the left side of a beige shirt.
“Chris? What are you doing here?” I stepped forward to catch him as Chris collapsed into my waiting arms.
He laughed, but it sounded pained. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Heck, I’m not even here. I’m somewhere in Demon’s Ridge, I think. With the Demons fleeing to the army at Cambria because of their king’s decree, there are beasts emerging we never knew about before. The Demons must have kept them in check.”
“That,” a voice said from behind me, “or they were brought to life by the Mindolin.”
Chris and I looked over to where Drew sat, back leaning against a large tree. He looked to be tired but uninjured except for a cut over his left eyebrow. Blood dripped down beside his eye, but he didn’t seem interested. His dark brown eyes looked on with sympathy at Chris. We both wanted to help our brother, but in a dream world, that wouldn’t be possible.
“Where are you at then, Drew?” Jeff asked from behind me. “I’m thinking I’m in the mountains surrounding the Warlock’s palace, but I can’t be sure. I thought I’d explored those mountains enough, but the Mindolin dropped me in the one spot I don’t know. And those things that are attacking Chris, they’re here too. If it weren’t for my Love element, I wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”
Drew nodded slowly. “I’m in Dark territory. Saber has done a good job alerting his people. Everyone who can go is on their way to Cambria. An older couple is hosting me right now. The creatures are also here. They attack anyone. People in small towns are fleeing to the cities and leaving in small groups to gather in Cambria. They think they will be safe there.”
Dalton ended up sitting beside Drew. His clothes were shredded, and he coughed up some blood.
“I’m okay.” Dalt gave us a weak smile. “I’m in a Vampire hive now. Victor is here, and he’s making sure I’m cared for.”
Jeff groaned. “I’m sorry, guys. If I stop using my Love element to use my Healing, I won’t be able to defend the witches in the area from these beasts. Thinking of witches around me was the only way I could find a loophole with my Love element to protect myself.”
“No one blames you,” Chris gave the healer a tight smile.
Carmon was the last to appear. He lay beside Jeff, blood and bruises covering much of his body. I couldn’t look and hung my head. I’d given him a good portion of those injuries. The Mindolin had required it, but now he didn’t trust me and hurting my brother had been a waste.
“Adam.” I looked to where Cal lay staring at me with his one good eye. “Tell them.”
“Tell us what?” Drew sat up away from his tree.
I ran my hands through my hair and gripped the strands near the roots at the back of my head. “Cambria’s going to be destroyed.” Various outbursts came from my brothers, but I held up my hands. “Enough, okay? It’s why I’m working with the Mindolin. I’m the only one who can stop it, and right now I’m failing.”
The admission of failure didn’t sit well with me, but it was the truth, and I couldn’t lie to my brothers at this point. Everyone needed to be on the same page.
“Our girls?” Chris asked me. “The babies? Are they okay? I’m not getting anything from them. In fact, I’m not getting anything from anyone. It’s like having my link shut down all over again, but I can feel that you guys are alive.”
Each of the other men, except Carmon, also seemed to have the same problem as they discussed their various symptoms.
My brows pulled down. “I don’t have that problem.”
“Neither do I,” Carmon groaned from the floor. “Adam and I have spoken, and I glance at the girls’ links to make sure they’re well.”
I nodded. “Me too. They seem to be fine. Worried, but they’re safe. The babies too.”
Drew visibly relaxed the most, but all my brothers were grateful for the news.
When silence set in, Jeff tapped his steepled fingers. “So how are we all here in Bard’s Forest?”
“Because, young Healing and Love, I brought you here.” Bard stepped out of the trees, looking older, if that were possible, and pale.
Carmon gave a wet laugh before coughing. “You’re a Lower Earth Elemental, Bard. You never told us.”
The old man smiled. “You never asked, Lord Life and Water.”
“Didn’t know I needed to.”
Bard looked at me as my brows sunk low over my eyes in thought. “What is it, Lord Fire, that is causing you so much pain? You look like your brain is about on fire.”
My eyes met Dalton’s. “When you want to hear something far away, what exactly happens, or what do you do?”
The Air Elemental looked a bit startled with widened eyes. “Um, when we were little, I’d have to concentrate and order the air to bring me the words being spoken if that’s what I wanted to hear. Now, I just need to wonder. Then I hear them.”
