Silver shook his head. “I had no time to observe him.”

“And the only Elemental to be destroyed so far was Kate Sullivan.” Gareth glanced up. “Your trainee.”

“Collateral damage. Kate lost sight of our goal here.”

Gareth nodded. “It happens.”

And it did. Not often, luckily, but their connection to humanity sometimes left them vulnerable to the weaknesses of others.

Silver had been doing this long enough to have lost any empathy for humans.

So had Gareth.

He gathered his papers and slipped them back into his briefcase. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

Silver nodded. “What is our plan?”

Gareth stood. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Make it look like you’re having trouble breathing.”

One thing Silver had always been good at—following orders. He pressed a panicked hand to his throat and sucked in a long rush of air.

Gareth’s power latched on to that air, feeling it move into Silver’s lungs, making them expand, exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide.

Silver felt that power. His eyes snapped open.

“Again,” Gareth said, keeping his voice even, reassuring. His power filled the air in the room. This was all part of his plan. “I’m going to call for help in a moment.”

Another breath.

“One more,” said Gareth. He moved toward the door. “Hold it. Pretend you can’t breathe.”

Silver inhaled, a breath full of Gareth’s power. He held it.

Gareth gave the element a little push, quadrupling the pressure inside Silver’s chest. He felt the other man’s shock. His sudden fear. His pain.

But his death was silent. Air rushed out of his mouth, but it was too late.

Once his lungs burst, he couldn’t make a sound. He collapsed forward onto the table.

“Forgive me,” said Gareth. “A dirty trick, I know. Thank you for your years of service.”

Silver was drooling on the table. He wasn’t dead yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

“What did you call Kate’s death?” said Gareth. “Collateral damage?” He leaned close. “Funny. I call it failure.”

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Nick Merrick set a wide piece of flagstone into the sand, shifting it back and forth to lock it in place. Despite the late October chill in the air, the sun beat down on his back, making him regret his long-sleeved black T-shirt. He pulled the red Merrick Landscaping cap off his head to wipe sweat away with his forearm. His hair was already damp, and he still had half a path to finish.

He yanked the hat back on and fed some power into the air, asking for a breeze.

The wind was overly happy to accommodate, sending a gust through the trees to scatter leaves and blow sand into the grass. Nick swore.

Quinn shivered and huddled down in her fleece pullover. “Frigging wind.”