The Elemental Wars - Sanity Book 1 (complete BUT UNDER EDITING)

Chapter VIII

Brianna POV

I squelched into the kitchen, my feet slipping around in my trainers and my clothes were dripping red liquid with the occasional chunk onto the oak wood floor. Everyone was sitting around the kitchen island, eating pizza I was strangely calm.

Jay stood up,

"We were looking for you!"

He was clutching a slice of pizza and his mouth was half full. I raised my eyebrows as a chunk of flesh fell off my hair and hit the floor.

I slammed the demon head down onto a pizza box, red chunky bits of flesh rained over Liam's food, I scowled,

"Why was the pizza delivery guy a demon?!"

Jay looked confused.

"Demons can't get inside the stronghold without permission! We have all kinds of magical protections!"

Liam flushed and flicked a red chunk of flesh off his pizza, then took a bit. He chewed slowly then said guiltily,

"I told the pizza man to come in so I could pay. My bad!"

Jay turned his head to glared at Liam,

"You almost killed Bree! How could you be so foolish?!"

I listened to them argued for about 5 more minutes, then I lost my temper.

"You guys are acting like little girls," Kyle smiled at his pizza, "the main thing is that I'm alive. Now, what's our next move?"

"Eat pizza and rest!" Kyle grinned and shoved the crust into his mouth.

I plopped down on a stool and grabbed a piece of cheese pizza. My hair was still stuck to the back of my neck and my clothes were beginning to dry, they became hard, they itched.

"I'm going to take a shower!" I pulled on my t-shirt making it rain blood.

"Good! Your hair is grossing me out!" Freya grimaced and leant away from me.

I scowled and stalked off, I could hear them yelling at each other. Cameron's voice was the loudest, he was screaming at Liam about how he'd almost killed the most important girl in his life blah blah blah.

The sound of water hitting the tiled walls was soothing, and the steam made me feel a bit light headed. As I pulled open the glass door, a cloud of warm steam ballooned up and into my face. But the second I stepped into the water, it turned red from all the blood. My head began to spin, the steam seemed to thicken until I felt like I was breathing through a fluffy towel. I caught myself on a small shelf, but it wasn't enough to hold me, as I stumbled back. Suddenly I slipped on the wet floor, I tried to catch myself. But I fell, hitting my head on the back of the shower. As my vision went dark, I saw a manicured hand stretch out from the thick steam.

I woke up in the same hospital bed I had woken up in a few days ago. I had a throbbing pain at the back my shoulder, I reached out and felt around. I strip of goes was stashed in a diagonal line down my back. I groaned setting my head back down on the comfortable pillow.

I may have fallen asleep, I'm not sure. But when I opened my eyes, long shadows were stretched along the wood floor. The sun was setting, bathing the room in orange light. I sat up, and I realised that I was back in my room. I got out and undress, walking into the spacious bathroom. I climbed into the shower, that's when I saw my back in the mirror. I cursed as I stared at a straight line of stitches, from the top of my shoulder blade to around half way down my spine. I sighed and turned on the shower.

Ten minutes later I emerged from the bathroom dressed in a white fluffy bathrobe followed by a cloud of steam. I felt clean for the first time in days, I dressed up in some plain white pyjamas because I realised that it was almost 10 o'clock. The PJ fit perfectly, they were smooth and silky against my wet pale skin. I was hungry, I'm not really sure when I had last eaten and I had used up a lot of energy battling the demon, I walked to the oak wood door. I stepped out, a cool breeze made my PJ trouser legs rippled like water, the cool wood felt good under my bare feet. I glided quietly downstairs.

"You look refreshed." A rough voice whispered. Gray was standing behind me holding a cold glass of water. He smiled,

"Sorry for startling you. I was getting a drink." He leads me into the kitchen, I followed slowly.

"You seem to fit in," Gray said absentmindedly. "It's the first time I've seen Jay so talkative, Kyle too, you have a powerful presence. In our history, we call people with incredible power, Et Potens, and we call the ones with a great presence, Magnus Coram. Now, what do you want?"

It took me a minute to answer, stuttering I said,

"C...Could I have some pasta, please." I furrowed my brow in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Gray said as he opened a cupboard.

He boiled some water and slide some pasta into a pan, then he skillfully chopped some tomatoes and added some spices.

"I was thinking about what Jay had said. He said you raised him and Grace like your children. But you look about 18." Blood stained my face as he was very good looking.

"Don't be embarrassed, I'm actually 45 years old. My body is 45 but my physical appearance seems younger. The Elders can change your age, on the outside." He set a bowl of perfectly cooked pasta in front of me.

I did a slight double take, I decided to change the subject.

"What's The Dark Circle? You said you'd tell us later. But you never explained." I started to destroy my pasta.

"The Dark Circle is a clan of malum elementals." He stopped his vision clouded.

"Malum? What does that mean?" I pressed.

"Malum means devil's children, The Dark Circle are the children of the devil. They're killing machines, their leader was one of the Elders." Suddenly he turned to look at me, his eyes were hard and cold,

"The Elders pass judgment over demons and half-breeds or bad elementals. One day the leader of the The Dark Circle's sister committed a crime, this was before he became a Malum." Grey stopped. He cleared his throat,

"She was his only sibling left, she was judged and slaughtered in front of his eyes. Later he lay in her blood and cried. That's when the devil struck him, it used his anger and turned it to evil, he became a Malum, he tracked down all the relatives or friends who have been overtaken by the devil. He trained them and then they attacked the land of Certona. They were cut down by our warriors, but they killed many of our kind. They made the streets flood with blood, they killed the innocent. They stole or killed all the children from Certona." Grey eyes were full of pain, "They killed my wife and my two girls, Carsten and Hazel. I found Jay and Grace in a hidden seller. Jay was two and Grace was one, I raised them as my children since I no longer had any of my own. They were the only kids I had ever raised with love. Then Samantha and Edmund left Kyle and Freya in my custody. Then Liam's mom abandoned... I mean, She gave Liam to me. Suddenly I had five children, and now I have seven." He smiled at me. Then I realised that I could never leave, no matter how creepy or frightening my new life got, I knew that Cameron and I had found a place where we belonged, a place I could call home.

Night had fallen, now dark and silent shadows stretched along the floor, in twisted but beautiful formes. Stars gleamed like diamonds in the sky and the moon was full and glimmering.

"Gray, where's Cameron sleeping?" I was worried.

"He's in the room above yours. He hasn't come out since the pizza delivery guy accident." He raised his eyebrows, "Why?"

"I need a piece of my old life to visit," I said tiredly.

"I see. The third floor on the left. Oh, and Bree," He hesitated, "Could you please stay out of the door on the right please, that's my room?"