People jumped into the aisle in a rush to escape before the bus plummeted two hundred feet into the freezing waters below. If the fall didn’t kill them, the current would pull them under before they could escape the icy grave of the bus. With them all muted, they couldn’t call on their elements to help. There wasn’t enough time to get to everyone and free them of their elemutuses.
Slamming into the lowest portion on the side of the bridge, the bus growled in protest and rocked up on its side, breaking through the cement barrier and sending the front out over the edge.
The bus teetered there, teasing us by rocking a foot toward the water, skidding a few inches forward, and then rocking back. It made an eerie groan as it finally slammed down on the bridge and rested to a stop.
The screams of fear were deafening. People ran toward the front doors—the exact opposite direction they should run. The bus shifted from the weight of everyone now pushing their way to the front. It slid another foot forward.
“Stop!” I jumped up on my seat and screamed. Some stopped and looked at me, but most were too terror-stricken. The instinct to survive at all costs drove their actions.
“Get to Lulu! Have her teleport people to safety,” I ordered Graves, then climbed over the seats until I reached the back. Gripping the handle on the emergency exit, I twisted and twisted, but it wouldn’t budge.
The bus slipped over the edge another foot. Full-blown panic erupted as everyone instinctively ran toward the back to get as far away from the edge as possible.
In an instant, they had me pinned up against the back window. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. Uselessly, I pushed back against the crowd, but they didn’t budge. I called air and blasted through the door, blowing it from its hinges.
Alec appeared in front of the emergency exit, grinning maniacally. Where one Tweedledum would be, the other had to be close.
I jumped out of the bus and readied myself for the battle of my life. For like the third time this year. He brought up an airfield behind me. I turned when someone shouted in panic and frustration.
He’d blocked the exit. Elementals screamed and slammed their fists against the invisible wall, desperate to escape before the bus plummeted over the side.
“Let them go!” I hit him with a fireball.
His grin widened as several people sobbed uncontrollably. The sick bastard actually took pleasure in other people’s pain, especially when he was the cause. God, how I hated dark elementals.
“Now why would he do that?” Sammie walked around the bus and stopped next to Alec. When she brushed his scar with the back of her knuckles, I shuddered. Gross. And here I thought him being with Jules was the most disturbing thing possible. “He’ll do anything to please me.”
Alec’s grin caused me to shudder again. If I lived through this, I’d need years of therapy to process the fact my mom and my arch nemesis were fuck buddies.
“Don’t forget me,” Spencer said and walked up, pausing long enough to plant a kiss on Sammie’s cheek.
“Eww,” I groaned. “Him too? What happened to the Barbie twins?”
“My boys.” She rested her palms on each of their cheeks. “I let them play with their toys, their little Barbie dolls, but they belong to me, don’t you? You know what you need to do, boys. They are abominations. Get rid of them.”
Spencer used air to push the bus closer to teetering over the edge and plummeting down over the bridge.
“No!” I tried stealing his air call and wasn’t surprised when the element ignored me. I hit him with fireball after fireball until it broke his concentration. The bus slammed back down onto the road.
“Stop the dilute,” Sammie ordered.
“With pleasure. Here, hold this.” He nodded at the bus. She grinned and brought up her own airfield, keeping the elementals trapped inside.
I didn’t wait to see what he planned to attack me with and hit him with my fire, keeping it on him as I intensified it to purple. He growled, which grew into a howl. I wouldn’t let up, not until he no longer moved.
The blast of air behind me knocked me off balance. I called the trees attached to the side of the cliffs surrounding the bridge to trap Spencer while still keeping my fire on Alec.
Sammie clotheslined me with a tree trunk, sending me flying. It knocked the wind out of me and killed my calls. I saw stars when I landed hard on the road and smacked my head.
“Hey, bitch. That’s my girlfriend.” Rob appeared and hit her with a massive stream of fire. She countered with air. When the two elements hit, the impact created a shuddering boom that sent air and fire flying in all directions.
“Careful where you throw things,” Clay stated and dodged a flying flame. “You almost hit me with that.” He grinned as he regarded Sammie. “Hey, Mom. Can I call you Mom? Too soon?”
The cavalry had arrived. I jumped to my feet and readied myself for the next round.
“Here to die with the dilute?” She brought a tidal wave of dirt from the cliffs up over the side of the bridge, crashing it down on Clay.
Leo appeared and countered with water, washing the dirt all over the road and turning it into a muddy mess. Clay shook the soggy soil from his hands. “Gross. I hate earth. It’s all over me. Yuck.”
“You’re welcome,” Leo said before facing Spencer. “Now, help me do something with this one.”
“With pleasure. Hiya, fandler. That’s my nickname for you. You’re a fake handler. Fandler. Get it? Goddamn, I’m funny.”
“Fascinating.” Spencer blasted through the cage of roots. “Where’s the earth elemental?”
“Right behind you.” Bryan summoned fresh roots from the surrounding cliffs, caging Spencer once again.
Rob and Alec hurled fireballs at each other, neither fire elemental getting ahead. Leo joined him, hitting Alec with
