Hungry Earth (Elemental Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

for your individual
successes and failures. The top student of all my classes will earn honors.”
    One of the guys raised his hand. “How do you feel
about rule-breaking?”
    “It’s your funeral.” We went outside to the grassy
field and he told us to pick our fighters.
    The water group formed a circle instantly. “I had
Professor Aros as my mentor in water,” the only woman in our group started. “She’s
a peacekeeper. Who was taught to fight with water?”
    The guy on my right shrugged. “I had Professor Hans
and he died, so I passed by default. I know shit about water. Who did you
have?” he asked me.
    “Remington Hunt.” I saw it in their eyes the moment I
said it that they were all unanimously voting me in. I sighed. “At least it’s
earth we’re up against.” I’d hate to make steam again. Fortunately, the
practice field was only a hundred or so feet from the lake, because pulling a
few drops of water out of the air was not that impressive.
    I waited as one man in the fire group and another
from the air group separated and made their way to the middle of the field.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Watson said. “Also, be polite and introduce
yourselves.”
    The air student bowed slightly. “I’m Lenard, everyone
calls me Len, and my air mentor was Professor Hyatt.” Above him, the clouds
began to stir angrily.
    The fire student pulled a thick object from the
pocket of his jacket. “I’m Dan, and my mentor was Professor Nightshade.” There
were several gasps. Dan waved what looked like a small flashlight in a large,
clockwise rotation in front of him. When sparks flared from one end, he held it
above his head in a lassoing movement. The spark turned into a damn ten-foot
long whip made of what appeared to be burning rope.
    Len waved his hand at Dan and a thin tornado came
down from the sky. Dan dived and rolled in time to avoid the twister that hit
the ground where he had been a second before. When he got too close to the
earth group, a wall of dirt and rocks shot out of the ground to block him.
    Dan ran towards Len and darted to the right to avoid
the tornado. He struck out with his whip and lashed Len across the stomach. Len
directed the wind tunnel in between them. Dan must have had a plan, because he
immediately struck at the tornado with his whip. The fire melded with the wind
and it became a tornado of fire.
    They were quick to adapt. Dan dropped his handle and
they both put up their hands with visible concentration on their faces. Either
one of them could distinguish their own magic and cause the entire thing to
fall, but together, they had one fantastic spectacle. There was a silent
agreement between them, which we could all see on their faces, that working
together was to their mutual advantage.
    “Very good,” Professor Watson said.
    Dan and Len lowered their hands, letting their magic
wither and die. Dan picked up his whip handle and returned to his group.
    “Next up is earth and water.”
    I went forth, seeing no point in arguing. From those
who had mastered earth, a small woman approached me on the field. I opened my
mouth, paused, thought better of it, and shut it. If her group voted her as
their best fighter, I wasn’t going to insult her for being a woman. She was a
very pretty Indian woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a knee-length black dress
with netted sleeves.
    Since it was about forty-five degrees out, I didn’t
think that was reasonable, but it wasn’t my business either. “I’m Devon and my
elemental mentor last year was Ms. Hunt.”
    “I’m Anika. I was trained by Professor Langril,” she
said with no accent at all. 
    “He’s my mentor this year. Is he any good?”
    “He is completely insane, but yes; he is very good at
teaching the earth element.” She flicked her hand in an upwards motion and a
shield of rock and dirt shot from the ground between us.
    It was a defensive movement, not an attack, so my
instincts didn’t warn me of danger. Once again, I