“Can you get Jordan to take us?”
“Yes, but not yet. We already talked about it and think it would be best if you went next week. There is a council meeting scheduled to decide what to do about Mr. Mitchel, whether he is out of the coma or not. All of the council members that support him will want to be there, so they will have to leave Mount Etna. I’m sure there will still be Pulhu on the mountain but not as many. It might make it easier for you to get in undetected.”
Mrs. Sullivan went over the plans with us for a few more minutes. When we left, Abby asked me to come to her room. I said goodbye to the guys and went with Abby. In her room, she showed me the different potions she made. We separated them between the two of us. If one of us got caught or lost our bags, we would still have some of the potions. I looked around her room. She still had two pots going with potions in them. When I asked her about them, she didn’t answer right away.
“Come on, Abby. What are you making now?”
“Nothing important. One is the potion to withstand heat, and the other is more of an experiment.”
“What kind of experiment?” The last thing we needed was to drink a potion and turn into mice for a day.
“I am trying to make a potion that will stop time.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Well, I read something that said there used to be an elemental who always knew what was going to happen. Some people believed he could travel through time. Another book said it seemed like this man could only see what happened a few minutes into the future. There are ingredients that when mixed together, might give you that ability. Not to see into the future or travel through time, but stop time. Everyone around you would be stuck in time, and you could change how something was going to happen. Probably not much, but it might be enough to help you when you fight the darkness.”
“Abby, how dangerous is this?”
“Pretty dangerous,” she said slowly. “But it is a last resort. After everything that has been happening, I think we need a last resort item. Hopefully, we will never have to use it.”
“How did you figure this out? Nobody else knows this is possible?” I asked.
“I don’t know if anyone else knows, but I found a similar spell in the book you found in the south wing. When I cross-referenced it with a book Adam’s grandfather sent me about old potions, I came up with this. I don’t think anyone else would have access to the book Chet gave me. It’s really, really old, and he found it at one of his archaeological sites. I have the only copy of it. He has the original locked up. The Pulhu didn’t get it when they ransacked his shop.”
“Ok, Abby, but we don’t use it unless it’s an emergency, like a life or death emergency, not any emergency. This is an untested potion. It could have awful side effects, and tampering with time is probably dangerous.”
“Ok, Sally.” Abby agreed. I left her to finish working on her potions and stepped across the hall to my own room. I was changing when I remembered something. I walked over to my desk and put my hand over the floor directly under it.
“Lakir.”
I said the ancient word the air elemental queen had used. A book appeared under my hand, and I lifted it up. I walked over to the bed and made myself comfortable against the pillows before opening it. I completely forgot about the book with all the problems lately. This book contained all the information the true air elementals knew about void and its users.
“Void is not an element,” I read out loud so Sievroth and Mauevene could hear me if they were in the room. “It is magic unlike any we have encountered. It is more powerful than all of the elements combined. We are not sure where it came from, but many think it originated on Earth, long before the elementals came. The users of void were specially selected, and very few were able to actually harness it.” I paused, waiting to see if Mauevene or Sievroth would say anything. When they didn’t, I went back to reading out loud.
“They studied it themselves, trying to unlock its mysteries. The only thing we know for sure from a void user is that only the most powerful could use void without being corrupted. They had many protections in place to combat a void user who lost control. A rumor was told to us that void magic came directly from the shadow king, but we haven’t been able to substantiate that.”
I stopped reading. If void magic was really the shadow king’s magic than why would he kill the void users when he killed the elementals and destroyed their cities. It was said he didn’t want any magic to be used by humans, which is why he sent the elementals into their own realms after all the fighting they did on the human realm. Something was missing. I didn’t believe the shadow king would kill those that had his magic.
An idea came to me. I wondered if a shadow king could be corrupted. In the story about the elementals, one of the shadow kings was a real jerk and thought he was the best at everything. Maybe he destroyed the void users because he didn’t want his brother sharing his powers with humans. It was a stretch, but it could make sense. I didn’t know enough about the shadow kings to know if my idea was possible.
There was a knock on my door, and I jumped up to put the book back under the desk. I said, “Lakir,” and the book disappeared as the person knocked again. I opened the door to Mrs. Sullivan.
“Come on, Sally. It’s time for you to go.”
“Where?”
“Chet is in town. Tider and Adam are waiting for you out front. They are going too. You will all stop by Dr. Griffith’s office. He wants to check and make sure your wound is really better before you go into town. He also wants to make sure the dark magic didn’t leave an invisible tracker on you.”
“It can do that?”
“Possibly. I don’t think you have anything, but it’s best to be sure.”
We walked down to the front doors together and met Adam and Tider. In the driveway was a sleek black car. I could see someone sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Natasha will take you to Dr. Griffith’s office. From there you can walk around the town. If you need anything, call me. We have already checked the town and haven’t seen any sign of the Pulhu, but be careful. Watch out for each other. You have three hours to talk to Chet and get back here.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Sullivan.”
I slipped into the car, Tider and Adam right behind me. Natasha, our driver, took us to see Dr. Griffith before we headed into town on our own. I hadn’t seen him since I first came to this school. He was the one who tested me and told me I had elemental powers. He also healed my dad after the Pulhu hurt him.
When we walked in, Nana, one of the nurses, came over and gave me a big hug.
“Sally, we have heard so much about everything going on around you. I’m sorry you have to deal with it. We couldn’t come to the school to help you. The Pulhu don’t know what side Dr. Griffith is on. Technically, he works for the council, taking care of children who uncover their powers and their parents don’t know what is happening to them. He couldn’t be seen siding with you, or the Pulhu on the council could cause problems for Dr. Griffith and the kids he tries to help. Plus, he helps regular kids with rare diseases when he can. He hates to turn any child away, even if they aren’t elementals.”
“Its ok, Nana. I don’t want to cause anyone else trouble. Dr. Griffith needs to stay here in the town and take care of the other kids.”
She gave me another hug as Dr. Griffith walked in.
“Sally, how have you been?” he asked.
“I’m ok, Dr. Griffith.”
He gestured for me to follow him while my friends stayed in the waiting room.
“How are you really doing, Sally?” he asked when we were alone.
“It’s tough, but I am doing fine. I miss my parents, and I worry about them every day still.”
“I know you do. They are safe. I know Gary at the Ireland haven has taken care of them.” He laughed at my shocked look. “I have been keeping tabs on you since you first came through these doors. I knew you were someone special. I’m not surprised you are th
e one who is going to defeat the darkness and stop the Pulhu.”
“I don’t know if we will win, but I’m going to try. I have something I need to ask you.” I continued when he nodded. “Have you heard anything about an imposter? I found a reference to an imposter and the prophecy. How do I know that I’m the one in the prophecy and not the imposter?”
“I have heard of this. There is no way for you to know. You will have to decide for yourself. Maybe you will meet this other person, and then you will know the truth. For now, I would continue on as if you are the one the prophecy speaks of. No one else has been able to find the true elementals and get them to agree to fight with us. You have the water sprites, the sylphs, and the dragons backing you. I would trust in them.”
He was right. Everyone believed I was the one meant to do this. I needed to start believing it too. Dr. Griffith did the routine doctor check-up and then called Nana into the room. “Ok, Sally, let’s do a quick magical scan. Nana will be able to tell us if you have any other magical signatures on you besides your own. That way, no one can follow you.”
Nana put her hands an inch from my body and ran her hands through the air over me. She stopped at each wound and spent extra time, making sure there was no magical tracker. When she finished, she smiled at me tiredly. “You are all set, Sally. Nothing is on you that can be tracked.”
“Thanks, Nana.”
Dr. Griffith cleared me to leave, and we hurried through the town to the little cafe. Chet was already there, and Adam walked to the booth to give his grandfather a big hug before sitting down. Chet gave me a hug next, and I squeezed into the seat next to Adam.
Tider sat next to Chet, and we all ordered something small when the waitress came over. Her eyes got wide when I ordered, but she didn’t say anything, and no one else seemed to notice, so I dismissed it.
It was a cute cafe, and I spent a lot of time looking at it before Adam nudged me with his foot.
“Pay attention.”
“Sorry. I’ve never been here before. It’s a cute town.” I glanced out the window again. “It’s always been too dangerous to let me leave school. I guess now the school is just as dangerous.”
“Sally, I have some information that might help you with the fire elementals. It’s not much, but that’s not why I’m really here.”
That got my attention, and I leaned forward to listen.
“The school is no longer safe. After you leave to go to the fire realm, I don’t think you should go back. Too many council members are siding with the Pulhu. I’m not sure what is happening, but even regular people are starting to be affected by something. There have been reports of killings all over the world. Something is causing people to act in ways they normally wouldn’t. They are selfish and uncaring toward others.”
“Why haven’t we heard about this?” Adam asked.
“The council is insisting it’s just another human war, and it will blow over, but most of us know something isn’t right.”
“How bad is it?” I asked.
“It has been getting worse the past few months, but this week has been really bad. Half of the states and most of Europe are now under curfew to keep people from hurting each other. Nighttime seems to be the worst. Not everyone is being affected, only a small portion, but it is causing a lot of trouble. If many more start to be affected, it will get worse quickly.”
“How can we stop it?”
“I think the only way to stop it is to defeat the darkness. The Pulhu aren’t strong enough to be the cause of this by themselves. It has to be the darkness the prophecy speaks of.”
“Then there is nothing we can do until I find all the true elementals. I need to find the earth elementals and void before I can stop the darkness.” We got quiet as the waitress brought our food to us.
“Don’t worry, Sally. We are all rooting for you. When you finish with the fire elementals, I want you to tell Jordan to transport you to my shop in Ireland. I have a way to keep you safe, but I don’t want to reveal how right now. You never know who is listening,” he whispered. I looked around the cafe. A few of the customers kept looking at our table, but they turned away as soon as I made eye contact with them. Something was definitely off here.
“Ok,” I whispered back. Chet started talking about how things were going in Ireland, and Adam asked him about the break-in at his shop. Chet told us the details. He still couldn’t locate his stuff. Whoever stole it put a blocking spell on everything so it couldn’t be tracked.
Chet was pretty mad about his shop being broken into and kept telling us all the things that were taken. I listened to him, but I kept my eye on everyone around us. I felt very exposed in the cafe. I was glad when Chet started to grab his things.
“I have to leave now. Adam, keep an eye on her, and all of you keep an eye on each other.”
“I will, Grandpa,” Adam said. We told Chet we would be careful, and then he left.
“We have more time before we have to go back. Is there anything you want to do?” Tider asked.
“We should head right back. It’s not safe here,” Adam said.
“It’s not safe anywhere,” Tider replied. “Sally has never gotten a chance to look around the town. This may be her only chance. She has us with her if anything happens.”
“I would like to go to the beach,” I said. I remembered the first time I saw the beach after my powers had awoken. The water felt like it was calling to me, and I would have stayed and watched it for hours if I didn’t need to go see Dr. Griffith back then.
“Come on,” Tider said and took off down the street.
I followed him slowly, Adam trailing behind me. Occasionally we would pass one of the townspeople, but none of them looked up or said hi as we passed. It seemed like they were all afraid of something, I looked around, or someone. I didn’t see anyone watching me, but I felt it. So far, no one had done anything but look oddly at me. I really wanted to go down to the beach, so I continued following Tider.
He waited for me to reach him. We took our shoes off and stepped into the sand. I let it squish between my toes and cherished the feel of it as I walked to the edge of the water. I had been in the ocean in Ireland, but this little piece of the beach still called to me. I sat in the sand and pushed my feet forward the extra few inches so they would get wet from the surf.
Tider and Adam were running up and down the beach. One of them found a frisbee, and they threw it back and forth to each other. I laughed as Adam lost his footing after a particularly large leap and fell into the water, soaking half his body. He looked around and quickly dried his clothes using his fire element.
I listened to them goofing around as I lost myself in the sight of the waves coming in. A creeping feeling crawled along my neck, and I turned around. Someone was watching us again. Eventually, I noticed a figure crouched on the edge of the beach, as far down as I could see. I wouldn’t have noticed him except for a glint of light. He must have binoculars, and the sunlight caught them when I was looking.
I stood up slowly and dusted myself off.
“Hey, guys,” I called. “It’s time to go.”
“But, Sally. We still have more time.”
“We need to go now, guys,” I said. I connected to each of them and told them someone was following us, and I wanted to leave.
Tider threw his arm around my shoulders and laughed, pretending everything was fine. We slipped our shoes back on and headed down the street, back toward the cafe. Another man was standing in front of the cafe. He was leaning against the side of the store, trying to act like he belonged, but his shiny dress shoes gave him away. This was a sleepy little town on the coast. No one was wearing shoes like that.
He had sunglasses on, but I could feel his eyes watching us as we walked past. Tider and Adam kept up a conversation about boats as we continued down the street, acting like everything was perfect. We made it back to the doctor’s office without any incidents.
We explained what happened to Dr. Griffith. He told us the
y were probably watching us and reporting back to someone else about what we did while we were in town. He didn’t think they were going to attack us, but to be safe, he sent us to the school right away. Natasha was already waiting, and we piled into her car.
Chapter Eleven
When we got back into the school, we told Mrs. Sullivan about our trip to town and the man we saw. “I’m not surprised they have people watching the town. We have been checking it but haven’t seen them. They must have a hideout we don’t know about.”
“Most of the townspeople kept looking at me weird,” I told her.
“Maybe they bribed or scared them into telling the Pulhu when they see you or any of the students from the school. That would explain why we haven’t seen them. None of the students have been in the town lately. I will send someone to see if they can find and track them down.”
We left Mrs. Sullivan’s and agreed to meet up later that night in the south wing. The day went quickly without anything to do, and it was time to sneak out faster than I expected.
I didn’t see anyone on my way to the south wing with Abby. We slipped inside and hurried to the meeting spot. Abby needed to grab a couple of books to bring with us, so we were a few minutes late. The guys were there and discussing how we would go about getting into the fire realm.
“It shouldn’t be too hard,” I said. “Mrs. Sullivan thinks most of the Pulhu from the council will be busy that day.”
“Yeah, but what about their followers? We know they have a lot and are constantly getting more.”
“I made more of the invisibility potions that we used in the air elemental realm. We can use those if we need too,” Abby said.
“See,” Tider told Richard. “I told you not to worry so much. It is going to be fine.”
“I think the more important question is, what are we going to find once we go in? We have no idea what we are walking into. Adam said we haven’t been able to find any information about what could be happening there.”
Buried Embers (Elemental Seekers Book 3) Page 10
