his bond to Leshan, which should protect him from the worst of the fallout.”
“What’s with the L names, anyway?” Xeke asked, apparently uninterested in the magical mechanics of his salvation. “Leona, Leshan, LeCoire; most of the elementals I know have L names.”
“An elemental’s true name is closely guarded,” Rikai answered. “Wise sorcerers,” she said, with a sharp glance at Jay, “may spend decades, perhaps even generations, trying to divine the true name of an elemental before ever speaking to or summoning it, since that name will give a mortal power over the immortal. The names we use are as real as an Internet messaging handle. The prefix le means ‘a power or impetus,’ in the ancient language,” Rikai answered, “which is the language used among the elementals.” Still focused on Jay, she added, “Idiot would-be sorcerers, on the other hand, meddle without any preparation or understanding of the powers with which they are playing, and cause things like this.”
Jay was still flinching from the heat in her gaze when Xeke broke in.
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard the ‘idiot would-be sorcerers’ speech a hundred times today alone. Someone who becomes a vampire hunter either has an irresistible urge to murder people or an irresistible urge to get killed protecting strangers. Blaming them for poorly planned, suicidal stunts in the line of duty is like blaming a cat for jumping after that stupid red dot.”
“Thank you, Xeke, for that very flattering defense,” Jay said. “So the short story is, you two are safe for now?”
“Yes,” Rikai answered. “As are you. Currently, the Shantel elemental has tied itself to you, and severed your bond to Leona. If Shantel wins, you keep that bond. If Leona wins, she will surely take you back like a prize of war. You will be fine. So please convince this fool friend of mine that we do not need to risk our lives trying to fight the immortals.”
Jay glanced at Xeke, who raised a brow, thinking to Jay, Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, hunters gotta hunt. You won’t walk away from this.
“Someone told us that, if we had a sorcerer to help and could get to Shantel territory, we might be able to do something there,” Jay said. “Brina is inside, and she knows where Shantel land was.”
Reluctantly, Rikai nodded. “That would be the best place to make a stand, yes. It would put us inside the strongest of the elemental’s defenses.”
They had a plan. It was crazy, but it was a plan. Step one was going to Shantel land, which was apparently a good distance away. Rikai seemed to think that once they were inside Shantel territory, they would have some leverage over the elemental. Step two would be summoning the elemental and then, as far as Jay could tell, completely winging the next phase and hoping they could find a way to control a creature with godlike power and a whole lot of wrath. That part relied on Rikai, so it was okay that Jay didn’t understand it all.
“We should fly,” Brina said with a trill of excitement, as she pointed to their destination on a map. Planes had not existed when she was mortal, and as a vampire, she had never needed one.
“We’ll need equipment to travel in the snow,” Jay added, in response to Brina’s mental images of the area.
“I’ll talk to my people and get the jet ready,” Xeke said. He pulled out his wallet and opened it to retrieve an outrageously shiny silver card, which he held out to Jay. “Do you think you can put together everything we’ll need?”
Jay took the credit card with a kind of reverence. He received a small allowance from his family, but he wasn’t the type to maintain credit.
“I might not be able to get to all the stores we need before they close,” he answered, compiling a list in his head, and realizing it was already nearly dark again. “But I’ll manage.”
Rikai let out a long, exasperated sigh before saying, “If we are going to fly across the country to fight elementals, I will need additional supplies.”
“I will go with Jay,” Brina announced. She glanced down at her long gown, thinking, This is not at all ideal for a winter wonderland adventure.
Without intending to, Jay found himself humming a bar of the song “Winter Wonderland,” which made Brina laugh, which in turn made Xeke and Rikai stare at them both as if they were lunatics.
“We’ll meet at the airport,” Xeke said. “Remember, we’re all on