Earth: The Elementals Book Four

Chapter 2

2

John spread the map in front of him, tracking the line of his proposed route. It would take some time to drive to Yellowstone. Flying would have been more expedient, but there was no way he could have transported his lab in a few suitcases, which was why he had gone mobile.

His luxurious RV had been earmarked for a rock star, but he’d manipulated the salesman into handing over the keys to him instead. All it had taken was some sleight of hand and a touch of mesmerism.

Technically, he could have paid for it. John had more than enough funds to cover the expense. A being didn’t get to be as old as he was without having an excellent financial portfolio. But what fun was there in paying for things like a good citizen?

John had spent the better part of a century acting the part of the benevolent and wise uncle. It had been the longest undercover con in history. Although there had been some days when he’d genuinely enjoyed himself learning all he could in T’Kaieri, the cradle of magic, he was grateful his time there was at an end. Now he could shed that cloak of benign goodness and please himself in ways he’d been unable to indulge in for far too long.

Stealing the RV was just the start. It had been completely outfitted to suit his needs. The vehicle was spacious enough for most of his gear. True, he’d had to forsake his bulkier pieces of laboratory equipment, but that was fine. He no longer needed them. The RV even had a mobile garage with an expedient getaway car underneath the main cabin.

Ah, technology… It had grown so wondrously decadent in the last few decades. As far as he was concerned, the little doohickeys and giant monster trucks were proof of human superiority. He was going to make sure every creature on Earth knew it, too.

It had taken decades, but John had finally perfected his formula. He’d crafted a poison that could kill any Supernatural being on Earth. It would work on shifters, vampires—even those damn tricky Fae. He’d been testing his formula long enough to prove that. The evidence of his successes floated in dissection jars in the cabinet over his head.

The most staggering part was how common the ingredients were. True, a few had been hard to get, but that was to be expected. Certain botanicals were thin on the ground these days, but John wasn’t a self-described genius for nothing.

It hadn’t been an easy road. Time and time again, John had met with failure. He’d almost given up his venture when he’d discovered a couple of the plants he needed were extinct, or rare enough to seem so. But then, he’d had an epiphany. As long as he knew the chemical structure of the compound he needed, he could have the ingredients synthesized.

John had managed to find a gifted and severely underpaid chemist to do the synthesis. It had taken the man some time, but he’d come through. Now John could simply add what he needed with a dropper.

The advancements in the field of chemistry and physics in the last century were staggering. He could only imagine what the next hundred years would bring.

What did this world need with Supernatural creatures in the face of human innovation? Witches and their ilk were evolutionary throwbacks, beings who belonged to the primitive ages of the past.

John was going to show the world it didn’t need magic—at least not the kind one had to be born with. He’d come into the world without it, but he had learned to work around that small liability. Other humans would learn as well. Once the Supernaturals were gone, he planned to teach his secrets to a select few students. Only those worthy. He already had candidates in mind. A few good men and a couple of likeminded females.

He sniffed at a sudden memory. Gia had been dead wrong. He didn’t dislike women or resent they had been given so much power. Yes, he believed the Mother creature had been misguided to entrust her greatest gifts solely to females, but that was plain common sense. Putting all of Her eggs in one basket was foolish.

Soon, it wouldn’t matter. His last test had proved it. There was no witch on Earth who could stand against his poison. Not even the most powerful subspecies—the Elementals. The trial run on the Earth Elemental had gone better than his most optimistic projections.

The mightiest had fallen. Well, almost the mightiest. But so, too, would She succumb. All he had to do was physically get to Her, but he wasn’t worried. His agile mind had just figured out how…