Free A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) by Jeanette Raleigh Page B

took longer
than she would have liked, but Claire was finally outside. The sky had that
tender pre-dawn glow that made the world visible in a dream-like way. Seeing a
dozen other sheds just like the one she escaped, Claire felt shocked.  They
were in the back yard, and Claire could see not only sheds, but a barn. 
    Now that she was
outside, Claire could feel Water again, the whole of water.  She didn’t realize
how much she missed the outside contact. Claire rarely wished for another Elemental
gift, but this time, it would have been nice if she connected more easily to
Earth or Fire.  Vampires weren’t afraid of water.  With enough power, water
could be terribly destructive, but they were inland.  Other than a rainstorm, Claire
couldn’t think of a way that Water could help her set free the prisoners.
    The worst moment
Claire had in the back yard happened when she was walking between the sheds,
trying to find something that she could use against the creatures inside. 
Across the field in one of the last sheds in the row, Claire heard a terrible
scream.  It was so full of fear and rage that she froze for a moment.
    Water, help me.
    Claire didn’t know
exactly what she was asking water to do. A few streams of water went spinning in
the air around the shed, but nothing happened. Claire thought of the van and
remembered the shovel. She sprinted along the sheds, across the side yard and
to the front.  Throwing open the vanagon’s door, she grabbed the shovel.
    “Hey, what are you
doing?”  Someone stood on the porch. Just her luck.
    Claire ignored the
voice and ran for the back.  The screams she had heard from the shed had
stopped.  The only sound was of feeding, the sound of crunching and gulping
like a pack of dogs.  Claire unlocked the door.  Throwing it open, she could
see a five vampires on their hands and knees feeding off of something she
didn’t want to think about. 
    It was too late
for the woman in the shed.  Worse, Claire could hear the back door of the big
house open and shut and the quiet murmurings of the group as they came to find
her.  Claire slipped into the shadows behind the shed.  She didn’t want to wear
herself out too early by switching back and forth from human to water.
    A voice called
from the yard, “Hey, we won’t hurt you. You don’t have to steal from us. We’ll
see that you’re well-fed and cared for.”
    Claire realized
that the vampires didn’t know that she had actually escaped.  They thought she
was a prowler. Thunder rumbled in the sky above and lightening flashed. The
quiet pitter patter of water droplets against the shed helped Claire hide both
her scent and location from the vampires. 
    They were
spreading out now, forming a line to find her. Even though she was exhausted,
Claire pushed to make another change to water.  With so many of the vampires
out here trying to find her, she could wreak havoc on the house, pulling down
curtains.  They would have no safe haven in which to return when the sun rose.
    Claire’s change to
water went quickly this time.  She let Air maneuver her, catching the breeze in
a thousand pieces until she reformed as human on the steps.  She ran for the
porch, yanking open the door.  The vampires were all outside hunting for her. 
This was her chance to really make a difference.
    Dozens of people
lay sleeping on the sofas.  Claire tore the curtains in the room down, certain
that at any minute a vampire would come through and catch her.  Beneath the
curtains, the vampires had added a second layer of aluminum foil.  The room was
still dark.  Claire tore the foil off until she could see window and moved to
the next.
    She was in the
parlor behind a sofa with an old woman snoring when the first group of vampires
returned. Claire dropped to her knees and wriggled her way as far back as she
could. Claire heard Tasha’s voice among them.
    The vampire from
the porch said, “Someone was out there, I swear,”
    “The