A fantasy romance where wind magic awakens fate at the ends of the Earth. Book 4 in the Fire, Stone & Water series—perfect for fans of elemental power and reluctant heroes.

She makes him howl.

Tech Sergeant Gale Adam’s final flight over the North Pole is supposed to be routine; instead it changes her destiny. Transformed by the Fates, tossed out of her KC-135, Gale is alone in the desolate arctic wilderness. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves, can she prevent elemental Nitro from extinguishing her home, her family and their future?

Novella, no explicit scenes

Humans feared the power of the elements, so they locked them away. In the process they altered the balance of nature. Eight hundred years later, the elementals have awakened. Maddened by centuries of imprisonment, these powerful beings crave vengeance. Three unsuspecting women will have to soothe the savage forces before it’s too late.

One will find rebirth in the flames that take her life.

One Night To Burn
One will meld with the sea that seeks to claim her.

When the Sea Burned
One will find a love that shakes the earth itself.

Scorched Earth
She will make the north wind howl.

Wind Burn 

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CHAPTER 1

“Pilot, crew, we’re going to be over the pole in twenty minutes. Get a good fix on where the sun is; it’s at 11 o’clock, and it’s going to be at five o’clock on our way back. You’ll notice the nav controls will not be reading properly in a few minutes. Don’t worry about it, it’s just magnetic interference.”

“Copilot copies.”

“Boom copies.” Gale looked out the window with interest. This was her final flight as an air refueler, or boom operator, with the Alaska Air National Guard. She loved being a boom, but after eight years of service she was through with politics. She was 27, young enough to start a new career as a private pilot, and she was looking forward to joining the family air cargo business. Her dad was so excited he could hardly stand it, and he was driving her mother crazy.

She smiled and glanced at the altimeter, noting that they were at 29,000 feet. They were flying out of the Eielson Air Force Base and were about halfway through a seven hour flight.

One of the great things about flying on KC-135 Stratotanker; they could fly straight from base to Hawaii or Guam without having to deal with lines or airport security. With 210 thousand pounds of fuel (a 33,000 gallon gas tank), it wasn't like they had to stop for gas.

A loud whistle sounded from the back, startling her.

“Hey, boom! What are you doing back there?” Mickey, the pilot called over the interphone. He probably thought she was messing around. There were a lot of pranksters in her unit; it kept things lively.

“It's not me, boss. Sounds like it's coming from aft. I'll check it out.” Gale grabbed her helmet bag and oxygen. “Pilot, boom is off intercom with oxygen, heading aft.”

“Roger, boom.” Mickey went back to discussing the classic car he was restoring with the copilot, George.

She unplugged her headset from the com and rose from the navigator table to check the cargo compartment, passing the primitive lavatory on the way. Basically an in-flight porta potty, it could make for a bumpy ride when they hit turbulence. She checked the large cargo door on the right, making sure the door was latched properly.

She did a visual sweep, but saw nothing out of place. Unlike civilian planes, military planes weren’t pretty. There was no aluminum or fiberglass panels covering the gray insulation, and orange cargo webbing lined the walls behind the bench seats. In the center of the plywood deck was an empty cargo area with tie down points. The exposed heating duct overhead made the normal rushing noise; no problem there.

There was no point investigating the boom pod. The only thing down there was the padding where she lay for hours with her chin propped on an outdated chin rest, pulling the ruddervator control stick. If she were making contacts, she would extend the boom to the receiving aircraft's fuel receptacle and transfer fuel. She liked doing the jets better than the heavies; heavies could take 35 minutes or more; if the receiver could stay in contact. Sometimes they had to back off and have another go.

On the C-17, it felt like doing an eight-pound lat pull with her neck at a weird angle. There was a reason booms had bad backs.

The whistling noise was louder here. The over wing hatches seemed fine; the door seals were seated properly, but when she investigated the aft hatch, she found it was incorrectly latched. “Bingo,” she whispered. When she peeled the insulation back she saw daylight, proving the seal had been pushed out.

This wasn't a major problem. Because the aircraft was pressurized, the hatch was sucked firmly in; it wasn't going anywhere. Short of descending to 10,000 feet and decompressing the cabin, it would take superhuman strength to open it, and would snap the hinges and pins as well.

She plugged her headset into the com port, ready to report, and heard the copilot frantically shouting. “Boom, get up here! I think Mickey’s having a heart attack!”

“Boom copies!” Gale yanked her headset out of the com, prepared to sprint to the cockpit…and skidded to a halt, dumbfounded. Three women stood in the way. How had they gotten here?

“Hello, Gale,” a tall Polynesian woman said with a friendly smile. “I’m Destiny, and I’m afraid they’ll have to manage without you.” She rummaged in her Laplander parka and pulled out a white silk bag.

“Sorry about this. We have to leave a body for your crewmate’s sake,” a stately black woman informed her, pulling a small vial from the pocket of her long down coat. The tassels on her shaggy boots swished as she shifted impatiently. “It’s tricky, but it will make it easier to explain to your superiors. You may call me Providence.”

“Where did you come from?” There was nowhere to stow away on the plane, no way three women could have entered a pressurized aircraft without alerting the crew. Gale struggled to recover her wits. “This is a military aircraft…” she trailed off as Providence thrust the vial under her nose, paralyzed by the contents. What was this, a hostile takeover? Where the Chinese behind this? They didn’t look Chinese.

The third woman might have been Spanish with her velvety cocoa skin, if not for the long, curly reddish hair. She was dressed in a beaver coat and tall Russian hat. “Hurry up. I have work to do,” she groused as she dumped the contents of a vial on Gale’s head. Oil rolled down Gale’s scalp with a cold burn, smelling of wintergreen and spruce. “Fortune is with you.”

Destiny sprinkled Gale with herbs like she was an oversized roast. “Fireweed down, for fiery light,”

“Because Nitro is a wicked cold monster,” Fortune muttered.

Destiny frowned at her. “Sh! Gardenia for grace and hospitality, because the wind elementals are a social bunch…”

“Nosy, in your business all the time,” Fortune said dourly. “And huggers! I never could abide a hugger.”

“Fortune!” Destiny paused to gather her thoughts. “Ah! Mistletoe, because you’ll need a bit of jolly cheer to deal with your husband.” She frowned at Fortune and snapped, “Not a word!”

Fortune adopted an angelic expression and smirked, spoiling it.

Providence snapped a diamond collar around Gale’s neck and slid a ring on her left forefinger. It was so wide it covered the first joint and sparkled with diamonds. “Hang in there, dear. It will be over soon.”

A deep chill settled over Gale, sinking into her bones. Her breath frosted and she breathed in ice crystals, shuddering as the shards dug viciously into her lungs and crawled along her veins in frozen fire, freezing all it touched. As the ice worked its way from her extremities to her organs, the pressure pushed the sharp ice crystals to her core, increasing the agony.

She couldn’t scream with frozen lungs, but her eyes rolled wildly, begging for help, until the fluid inside froze and she went blind. Alone in the dark with the pain, she shook with terror. Shards frothed in her stomach, pushed up her throat until they burst from her mouth, taking her essence with it.

Gale crouched naked on the deck, mute with pain. Her skin felt like it had raked over crystallized snow, although there was no bloody cuts to prove it. Her old body laid there, eyes open and very dead.

“Good job, ladies! I knew we could leave a body if we worked at it. Now, off with you, Gale. Remember, the Fates are with you.” Providence made a shooing motion, and Gale was sucked out the gaping seal.

She would ponder the physics later. At the time, all she could process was the way the wind seized the shards that made up her new body and reshuffled them in a new pattern. It felt like being ripped limb from limb, eyes and tongue and organs becoming a macabre Rubik’s cube in invisible monster hands.

The pain was hideous, and she fell back on the training they’d drilled into her at Happy Valley, the nickname for the survival training grounds near Spokane, WA. She’d never thought she’d need it for something like this. “My name is Tech Sergeant Gale Adams,” she chanted, along with her social security number and date of birth. She repeated it over and over as the wind tore her apart and made her anew.

***

She didn’t lose consciousness during the long fall to the ground. She didn’t splat, either, but drifted to the snowy peak as softly as eiderdown. Stunned at the loss of pain, she crouched in the snow. Gradually she became aware that the snow wasn’t cold, despite being naked. Gale tried an experimental step. She wobbled, but her feet didn’t sink into the deep drifts. Amazed, she took a few more steps and found she could walk on top of the fresh powder. Having grown up in snow country, she wouldn’t have been more surprised if she'd walked on water.

She squinted at the weak northern sun. She wasn't dead, she was sure of it. She might have been hallucinating, but she was a realist. She'd never had a hallucination that involved all five senses. The snow sparkled with light that should have been blinding, but didn’t hurt her eyes. It felt like sugar sand and didn't freeze her bare feet, and if she didn’t know better, she’d swear she was traveling over packed sand dunes. She could even smell the cold, or was that the different gases in the air? She didn't know how that was possible, but instinctively knew it was true.

She tasted the snow but it sat on her tongue without melting, so she spit it out, grimacing at the sandy texture. She looked for a clue about what to do next and spied an ice cave. Instinct drove her to seek shelter, so she went inside to check it out. Muted sunlight shone through the ice ceiling, casting blue light over the small interior. She ran a hand over the clear blue ice, marveling at the way it felt like glass, not at all cold. She turned to inspect the other side and saw a man frozen within.

It was so surreal, she didn’t know how to react. He was tall, nearly a foot taller than her, and she was 5’11”. The body was corpse blue, and as she looked closer, puzzled, it seemed as if he were semi-transparent, as if someone had frozen a glass sculpture. She ran her hand over the runes carved on the glass, wondering why someone would leave a body out here. Was it even real?

Movement caught the corner of her eye and she spun. A pack of ghostly white wolves slunk into the cave and prowled restlessly, pale eyes watching her. Where their fur brushed, frost puffed, making the air sparkle.

There was nowhere to go. A quick glance revealed no weapons, not even a loose chunk of ice. She shifted her balance as the lead wolf charged and let him ram the wall, smiling when he yelped. While he was down, she stomped on his neck, hoping to do enough damage to slow him. Instead, her foot crashed through him as he turned to smoke.

A pink smear remained on the runes. He must have hit his nose hard.

The remaining three wolves growled. She was prey, and they weren’t intimidated. As the downed wolf materialized with murder in his eye, she knew she was doomed. She had the sinking feeling that they might look like phantasms, but their teeth would be sharp and lethal.

The wolves charged, and she shrieked as teeth sank into her thigh. She struck out, hitting fur, and the wolves backed away. They stared at her expectantly, unnerving her. Wondering if they knew something she didn’t, she grabbed her burning leg and risked a look at her thigh, expecting blood. Instead pink mist rose from the bite, mixing with the blue tinted air. Horrified, she stumbled back, vainly trying to escape the bizarre phenomenon. Her palm slapped the ice…and the ice began to steam.

The adrenaline spike gave Gale speed as she leapt away and put her back to another wall, torn between watching the wolves and the evaporating ice. In less than a minute the body inside crumpled to the icy floor. She glanced hopefully at the wolves, wondering if they’d accept it as a meal and leave her alone.

The body moved.

Gale’s eyes widened. Thoughts of zombies played in her head as she inched away. It would be an excellent time for the wolves to attack, but they simply watched. The leader whined, an oddly wistful sound.

The man drew a deep breath and coughed. Pushing hard against the floor, he struggled to his knees and stared at Gale as if trying to identify her. Stiffly, he made it to his feet and braced an arm on the wall, his gaunt, wasted body barely able to support him.

The alpha wolf inserted his head under the man’s hand, demanding acknowledgment and welcome. The man smiled and rubbed his ears. “There’s no loyalty like the wolf wind,” he said hoarsely. He studied Gale with sky-blue eyes, a hank of limp white hair that had escaped his long braid screening the view. His color was improving as he absorbed the energy from the air, and he resembled an ice sculpture more by the moment. He was dressed in a long, belted blue tunic with silver embroidery on the collar and sleeves. Smoky gray pants were tucked into knee-high laced boots. The boots were intricately scrolled, with thick soles.

“Are you always naked, or did my wolves eat your clothing?” The man asked, nodding to her lack of attire. His eyes lingered on her jewelry, which she preferred to the alternative.

She straightened and clenched her fists. She refused to be shamed by something that wasn’t her fault. “I was attacked, but not by wolves.” When he simply waited, she continued, “Some women snuck onto my plane and…did something. Transformed me. They called themselves Providence, Destiny and Fortune,” she said grimly. “I’m stranded and I need to get home.”

He grunted and tossed her his tunic. He hadn’t taken it off; it simply appeared in his hand, leaving him in a gray, short-sleeved shirt. “Where is home?” He limped toward the mouth of the cave, using a wolf for balance.

“Fairbanks, Alaska.” She pulled the tunic on and hurried after him, grateful for the covering. It smelled like winter and him, like peppermint and a frosty winter’s dawn.

“The winds will know it.” He stood at the cave’s mouth and looked around for a long moment. He stood there so long, she began to think of other things than going home. “Why were you stuck in the ice?”

He studied her. “How long has it been since the last ice age?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. Millions of years?” At least, that’s what they taught in science class.

He nodded. “Like the blink of an eye. Your kind frowns on that sort of thing. Humans kept the memory alive until the Fates granted revenge.” He carefully navigated the slope, heading for the windswept plain.

“What? Wait! Are you saying you had something to do with the Ice Age?” She had serious doubts about following him now. “Were you frozen in the ice because of that?” Horrified, she muttered, “Please tell me I didn’t accidentally release a killer.”

The wind carried the whisper to his ears. “Blood of my wolf and woman.” He looked fondly at the wolf helping him with the steep footing.

She noticed with a shiver that none of them left tracks. “I’m not your woman, if that’s what you’re implying.” She had to be absolutely clear on that. “I’m leaving.”

“Go where you wish. I won’t cage the wind.” He didn’t even look at her.

The burn in her thigh distracted her. She stopped and raised the tunic to look at the damage. It was steaming sluggishly. She probed it, wincing, hoping to see red blood. Was it like this because the wolf wind bit her?

“Let me see.” The man crashed to his knees in front of her, too weak to descend gracefully. “You need to heal this.”

“It’s not real blood,” she insisted. This was too surreal.

His glance was sharp. “Real enough to kill you.” He stared at the wound for a moment, his hand tightening as she shifted self-consciously. “I’m too weak to do this. You need to help.” He tugged lightly on her wrist. “Come here and I’ll show you how.”

Gale wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but her options were limited. She knelt, grimacing at the pain. “Now what?”

He placed a hand on her cheek and she flinched in surprise. She was protective of her personal space, but she forgot her discomfort as she fell into his eyes. She could feel his mind as he scooped up her consciousness, floating her along like a leaf in the wind. His mind was vast, his intelligence honed over the ages. He was ancient; and she felt like a child in comparison. He directed her attention to her leg, showing her how to fix the torn tissues, to stop the air escaping.

His knowledge of her body was exhaustive, and she couldn’t miss how utterly, completely different it was from the human form. She didn’t have cells as she understood them, or body fluid. Gasses made up her body, pumped through her vascular system. Healing the alien tissues, she realized exactly what she was. She bled air because she was an air elemental like him. She didn’t feel the cold because she wasn’t human, couldn’t leave tracks because her body was made of air.

Merged as she was with his mind, she knew he monitored her thoughts and emotions. Under his steady regard, she panicked.

Apparently, she could still hyperventilate. She came to herself gasping for air.

He waited patiently until she calmed. Sitting on the snow beside her, their legs touching, he gazed over the valley. She could feel him regulating the air she breathed, doing something that calmed her.

She needed it. Her thoughts raced in time with her heart, and she trembled with the knowledge that she was forever different. There was no going back; there was no going home.

Her companion seemed to have infinite patience. He didn’t try to rush her, merely monitored her while she struggled for control. When she was reasonably recovered, he suggested, “My home is in the valley. Walk with me and we can rest in safety.” At her blank stare, he added, “I could use assistance.”

Shock was her friend. She had a goal; she would take Nitro where he needed to go. It was solid, immediate, and would help her to block the panic threatening to consume her. Everything else could wait.

Somehow she doubted her help was critical, but it was something to do. She helped him up. “I bet you’d make it without me. You don’t look like the type to let a little thing like being trapped in ice stop you.”

He smiled faintly. “You make it easier.” They made their way down the mountain carefully. Despite her words, he was obviously not at full power.

The unmelting, dry snow reminded her of sand dunes. “A sled would make this easier,” she said wistfully.

“Flying would make it easier,” he said dryly. “It’s also beyond me at the moment, though you might manage.”

She stumbled. “What?”

He looked at her patiently. “You are an air elemental.”

“For all of an hour! Are you saying I can fly? How?” she demanded.

He smiled faintly. “Under the circumstances, maybe I should demonstrate later. For now, I can show you how to make a wind construct. A sled,” he clarified when she looked baffled. “The wolves will pull it.”

She thought about it, and nodded. It was no more crazy than everything else that had happened today. At this point little could shock her. “Okay. How do we do this?”

He touched her face, his gaze weary. He truly was at his limit. “What is your name?” he asked softly.

“Gale,” she whispered as he pulled her into his mind. It was like a galaxy, expansive beyond belief. He was deeply intelligent, knew so much. She shivered as she understood how incredibly old he was, how powerful he could be. It was a good thing he’d decided to help her, because she was way out of her league. “What’s yours?”

“Nitro,” he said softly, and he showed her how to tame the wind. Once he showed her how to shape air molecules, it was simple. In no time at all, they had created a sleigh.

Nitro slid to the ground. She tugged at him, but he was twice her size. How could someone made of air be so heavy?

“Give me a moment,” he murmured, exhausted. Time passed, but he didn’t seem to grow stronger.

A wolf nosed her, and she looked at it warily. “What?”

It nosed Nitro and whined.

Gale sighed. “Okay. Get under his arm. I’ll brace the other side.” Between them, they managed to get Nitro onto the floor of the sleigh. She didn’t even try to get him on the seat; he was heavy for a wind elemental. She curled his long legs inside and took a seat. “Okay, wolf. Mush.”

The wolves took up positions in front. She saw no sign of a harness, but the sleigh moved as if there were, gliding over the snow and then into the air as smoothly as Santa’s sleigh. She peered warily over the side and reminded herself of her feathery glide from the plane earlier; falling was unlikely to kill her.

Sparkling snow dunes stretched as far as the eye could see. This far north, there were no trees, only tundra and precious little wildlife.

With the wolves help, it took only minutes to reach the valley. As they descended, a mansion appeared. It glittered with rainbows as light played over the crystal facets. The light would have blinded human eyes, but to her it was beautiful.

The gates opened at their approach, and she couldn’t decide if they resembled ice or glass more. She doubted they were made of either, because her new senses insisted they were formed of pure air.

The sleigh slid to a smooth stop on the tiled entrance hall and she took a moment to stare. A glass bridge flanked by corkscrew slides arched over the entrance hall, glowing in the light of the stained glass windows. Balconies lined the walls, overlooking a glass throne on a raised dais. This was his home?

She looked around, but the place seemed deserted. She glanced at Nitro, but he was clearly done. Since he didn’t look comfortable bunched in the sleigh bottom, she hopped out and frowned at the glass tiles. Using what he’d taught her, she formed a bed next to the sleigh and dragged him onto it. He wasn’t much help as she pushed and shoved, but finally she had him settled. She covered him with a blanket out of habit, not sure if he needed one. It couldn’t hurt.

With the wolves guarding him, Nitro seemed safe enough, so she explored. She didn’t know how long he’d been imprisoned, but his house was pristine, if empty. There were three floors in the mansion with pillared balconies overlooking the throne room. She counted eighteen bedrooms, six of which were suites. There were servants’ quarters, a kitchen, two parlors, a music room and a dojo with attached armory. She didn't linger over her inspection, and the third time she checked on Nitro she found he had visitors. The woman had long sable hair, and was dressed in spring green and pink robes, vaguely Thai in style. The man's dark green tunic seemed more Nordic, similar to Nitro's. It had gold embroidery around the neck and arms and was belted with braided leather. A dagger hung from his belt and he carried a gold-inlaid staff. His black velvet pants were tucked into his tooled-leather boots. His long white hair was braided.

“You must be Gale,” the woman said with a smile. “My name is Cherry Blossom, and my brother is Hoarfrost. We are Nitro's children.”

Gale glanced uncertainly at Nitro. She noticed he was dressed in a simple cream tunic and pants, his long hair loose and seeming freshly combed. The humble blanket was now pale green velvet and the pillows on the daybed were more numerous and plumper. When he gave her a weary nod, she relaxed. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Frost said, sizing her up. “We are pleased to have our father free again.”

“Would you like a cup of vapor tea or cloudberry juice? Perhaps some nitrogen wine?” Blossom gestured to a small table and chairs next her father's bed. “We have so much to discuss.”

The sleigh was nowhere in sight, and Gale wondered if it had dissolved. She considered the drinks and opted for the juice. “Thank you. I was wondering if either of you knew how to find Fairbanks, Alaska? I have family there and I need to talk to them as soon as possible. They're going to be very worried.”

In fact, by now they probably thought she was dead. She winced and tried not to picture her parent’s reaction when they were told. She could fix it. Things were weird, but it would be better when she let them know she was okay. One step at a time.

The siblings exchanged looks. “We do, but we would like to hear what happened to you,” Frost said firmly. “Our father has been able to tell us a little, but it doesn't sound as if you had time to talk about it in detail.”

Gale quickly summed up her experience, in a hurry to leave. “So you see, I need to get back and tell the Guard and my family what happened.” Her speech slowed as she thought about what she was saying. There were a number of problems with trying to explain what happened to the Guard.

Frost picked up on her hesitation. “Had you thought about how you’re going to explain your new state to them?”

Gale blew out a breath. “Yeah, that's problematic. I don't know what I would say to the Guard, but I need to tell my family. My parents will be so worried.”

Frost seemed to relax. “We can help you with that. Meanwhile, have you learned how to feed on raw elements?” When Gale frowned, he added, “You might give some thought to learning the dangers here, too.”

“We feel responsible for you,” Blossom said earnestly. “We made the wedding jewelry, hoping to free our father one day. We had no way of knowing a human would be chosen, or changed in such a violent manner. I am so sorry for the pain this caused you.”

“We were angry and desperate. Our father was punished, but our mother wasn’t. She was the one who was unfaithful. Anyone would have been angry,” Frost said grimly.

“Not everyone can freeze the Northern Hemisphere,” Gale said dryly.

“True.” Frost drew a deep breath. “Perhaps I could have been more forgiving, but Mother hasn’t been easy to deal with in centuries.” He looked solemnly at his father. “She is dead now, sir.”

Nitro’s expression didn’t change. He simply nodded.

Gale wasn’t certain what to think. “How long were you imprisoned? You guys talk about centuries as if they were nothing.”

“I’m sorry, we didn’t tell him the year,” Blossom said softly. “It was 800 years, I’m afraid.”

Nitro closed his eyes.

Gale sat back, stunned. She reviewed what they said, line by line, and realized she’d missed an important point. “What’s this about wedding jewelry?” The question was loaded with suspicion.

“That is for you and our father to work out,” Frost said diplomatically. “It worked, and he’s free. That’s all we wanted.”

“Then you can have your jewelry back,” Gale said firmly. She tried to remove the ring and found it wouldn’t budge.

Blossom made an apologetic face. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to remove it. These things are designed to be permanent. At the time, we thought it would go to a woman who would be glad of it.”

Great. Gale tapped her fingers, but silently acknowledged the jewelry was the least of her problems. “Fine. Just get me home, please, and I’ll deal with the rest.”

“It would be my pleasure. I can show you how to feed properly on the way,” Frost said as he rose.

“Wait! We can't send her home like that.” Blossom gestured to the tunic Gale wore. “Her family will think we didn't take proper care of her.” She frowned in concentration and the tunic became a white silk dress with floral quilting. Of vaguely medieval styling, it had long sleeves that widened at the wrist, and the hem ended just below her knee. It was slit on the side to reveal sky blue silk trousers and cute little half-boots. A gold sash cinched her waist, completing the ensemble.

“There! Would you like me to change anything?” Blossom formed a mirror so Gale could give her opinion.

Gale blinked. Her hair had always been black, but now it was long and glossy with silver tips. Her eyes had been pale blue but now they glowed like a piece of summer sky. Even her nails gleamed like polished glass. “Is that me?” She touched the mirror, disconcerted. “What did they do to me?”

Blossom touched her arm and made a comforting noise. “I am sorry for your distress. Please know I'm here to listen and help if you need me.”

Gale shook her head. Somehow she doubted that regaining her humanity was something Blossom could help her with, but saying so would seem ungrateful. She needed the Fates for that. Somehow, she would find them and make them fix it.

Frost glanced at his father. “I will return soon.”

“Thank you, I appreciate your help,” Nitro said, inclining his head to indicate both Frost and Gale. “I hope it goes well with your family, but you are welcome here as well,” Nitro said formally, but his gaze was intense. Gale got the impression she would see him again soon.

Blossom waited until they left, then quietly pressed her father’s hand to her face. “I missed you, Daddy. I’m so glad you’re home.”

Nitro’s gaze softened as he drew her into a hug. “Sweetheart. I love you, too.” He bitterly regretted the time he’d missed with his children. His absence had hurt them, and if he could do things over… There is no point thinking about it. What he needed to do was focus on now, on the future.

Gale would be part of that future. He would give her the freedom to make her own choices, but he had no doubt she would return. She would need him, but he had to let her find that out for herself.

***

“The first thing you must learn is to draw upon the wind. It's easy and it should be instinctive,” Frost explained as they left the building and stepped outside onto the snowy plain. He demonstrated how to draw on the wind currents, pulling specific elements to her. “Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon are some of the elements we command. There are others of course, and all of them have different value to us. Some are for feeding and others are for shaping. In addition, the different gases we eat have different nutritional value. For instance, it would be a bad idea to try to live on nitrogen alone.” He smiled as if that were an understatement.

If it was a joke, it went over Gale’s head. She didn't find it amusing when he levitated them without warning, either. She stiffened and her eyes went wide as he swiftly rose above the mansion.

“Easy,” Frost advised. “This is as natural as breathing.”

“I'm going to fall!”

“If you did, you would simply drift to the ground. Remember, you're no longer as dense as a human. Gravity does not affect you the same way.” His tone was sympathetic, but she sensed he was enjoying himself.

“You don't like me, do you?” Gale searched frantically for a way down. She imagined herself slowly drifting to earth and sighed with relief as her body obliged.

Frost watched with approval as her feet gently touched the snow. “I've never had a stepmother to torment before. It's fun.”

She glared at him. “I refuse to be your stepmother; you’re centuries older than I am.”

“Don't let my seniority upset you. I promise not to comment on your age…much.” He alighted next to her. “Ready to return to Fairbanks? I'll open a portal.”

She took a step back in surprise as an oval portal opened in the middle of downtown Fairbanks. “How did you do that? I thought we were going to fly!”

He shook his head. “A KC-135 has a top speed of 530 mph (853 km) at 30,000 feet. A category five hurricane, on the other hand, is a storm wind exceeding 156 mph, or 136 knots (251 km). Even if you traveled at hurricane velocity, which I doubt you can do for long, it would take you awhile to get back home.

“Fortunately, you have an old elemental at your disposal that can open portals.” He bowed.

She looked at him suspiciously. Was he a genius? Normal people, humans at least, didn’t cite numbers like that. “Can all air elementals rattle off numbers like that?”

He shrugged. “I bet you can tell me how many miles you can travel in your car on a gallon of gas, the average road speeds, and the general mileage on your vehicle. We remember numbers we use often, like anyone else.”

That sounded reasonable, but she made a mental note of his intelligence. It would be a bad idea to underestimate Nitro’s son.

She studied the familiar landmarks, noting that it was later than she’d realized. Her parents must have been notified about her “death” by now. She couldn’t imagine what they were feeling. Had they called the family?

Realizing she was stalling, Gale stepped through the portal. Relieved to arrive in one piece, she looked around. They were in a busy grocery store parking lot, but no one glanced at them. “Can they see us?” she asked uneasily.

“No. It takes effort to become visible to the human eye. You have to learn to bend light rays, and it’s not easy. Which way?” He levitated both of them, looking at her for directions.

She gave him instructions, and then asked anxiously, “But my family will see me, right? You can help, can’t you?”

He took a long time to answer. “I know the theory, but I’ve never wished to make myself known to a human. My father can, of course, but he’s far older than I.”

Her shoulders slumped. She’d never imagined it would be this difficult. “I wanted to give my parents a hug, tell them I’m fine. They’ve got to be worried.”

Frost halted their forward motion, hovering as he stared at her sympathetically. “You won’t be able to touch them, Gale. Even if I manage to make you visible, your touch will feel like a gentle breeze, your voice that of the wind, very soft…if they can make it out.”

Gale held very still as she absorbed the news. As far as humans were concerned, she was a ghost.

Frost didn’t rush her. He floated in front of her as if he had all the time in the world.

Gale finally stirred. “I want to see them.” She felt numb as Frost continued on. She dimly realized she was in shock, and as the landscape blurred, she realized she was silently weeping.

Her parent’s cars were in the driveway. Frost found a tiny crack under the door where the weather stripping had peeled away and flowed into the house, pulling her with him. She shivered at the sensation of becoming wind, but forgot it as she saw her parents grieving on the couch. “Mom! Dad! I’m okay,” she cried as she rushed forward, and halted as she realized they couldn’t hear her. Grief stricken, she fell to her knees beside them and hugged their knees. “Mom…” she choked, unable to go on.

Frost remained silently supportive as she vented her grief, telling her parents she loved them, that she was okay. Their grief finally calmed, and she thought for a moment they sensed her.

“We need to call her grandparents,” her mom finally said. “The family needs to know.”

Her dad gulped, swallowing a fresh wave of tears. “Our baby. My little girl.”

Gale hugged her mother’s knees, pressing hard with her brow. “I’m still here, Dad. I love you.”

Her dad took a shuddering breath and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed. “Hello, Dad? I have bad news.”

Gale stood and hugged her belly, unable to bear it, but unable to leave them in their grief. She stayed as relatives arrived full of tears and questions. She hurt with them as the ripples of grief spread. She’d known she was loved and the family was close. Her parents wouldn’t be alone.

But she was. She was an outsider now, and the knowledge burned a hole in her gut. The pain wanted to bury her, and she finally retreated to her apartment over the family’s air freight office. Being alone helped (she chose to ignore Frost), but as she looked around at the things she could no longer touch, she felt hollow. The contents of her kitchen, her clothes, her things, were no longer relevant. She couldn’t take a hot bath or eat ice cream. She couldn’t surf the net or watch her favorite movies. Her usual coping mechanisms were denied her. Her home, her old life, was gone as surely as if a hurricane had ripped it away.

“I wish I could take the pictures,” she said, looking forlornly at the framed photos on the wall and trailing her fingers over the photo albums and scrapbooks. Her computer had hundreds of photos, too.

“That I can do,” Frost said firmly. “I’ll have my staff make copies and return the originals. We can even duplicate the electronic files.”

“You can?” she whispered, overcome. At least that was something. She sat on her bed, exhausted. Out of habit she reached for her teddy bear. The fur rippled as she touched it, but she couldn’t pick it up.

Her cat chose that moment to stir. Stretching, she hopped from the back of the couch and headed for her litter box. Unaware of Gale’s presence, Huntress groomed and jumped onto the bed, leaping through Gale to settle on the bed in a contented heap.

Gale choked, “Huntress?” Her touch ruffled the cat’s fur. Annoyed, the cat leapt on the wide windowsill to watch the planes take off.

That was it. Gale fled, instinctively taking her cloud form and flowing under the door. She had to escape.

“Easy!” Frost said as he caught her shoulders, releasing her immediately when she twisted to escape his grasp. He opened a portal to Nitro’s house and stood aside, waiting.

Gale shot through the portal, grateful to escape. She shook with grief, raging at the Fates who’d stolen her future and her family. The cold, clean air helped. She looked back as Frost emerged behind her.

He let her take a last look at her old home. “Your family will still be there,” he soothed. “You need a break.”

She looked away, and he closed the portal.