by A. N. Sage
“Just that the girls in our family are like guardians of it or something.”
“It’s so much more than that, Ruby. You don’t just guard the sword; your kind was created to use the sword as a way of controlling the Elementals. Whatever power Air and Water had so far by mere possession of the sword would be amplified by a million with you around. They could wipe the rest of us out in seconds if they wanted to.” He reached for her hand again, “Well, you could anyway.”
She looked at his face, he wasn’t kidding. He really believed she was in danger of being taken. Of being controlled. Ruby had no idea how someone could force her to do something she didn’t want to do, but after everything she had seen lately, she erred on the side of caution and believed him. She still didn’t know how to feel about him after he rejected her but when it came to this, she felt that she could trust him to have her best interest at heart. “But why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because I knew you’d want to be some hero and try to save everyone if you knew what you’re capable of. I thought that if we didn’t tell you who you were, you would just stay out of it and help us from a safe distance. But, of course, you had to go and come up with your little plan for the sword, anyway.”
She thought back to their fight, when she told him about her plan for the sword. It all made sense now. He was trying to protect her by getting her to leave. She wanted to lean over and kiss him. To tell him that she understood why he did it. That she forgave him. His face was flushed and when he reached over to brush the hair out of her eyes, she turned the same shade of crimson.
“Everything I’ve done so far was to protect you.” He said.
“I know.” She jumped up from the bed rapidly. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“I know how to get the sword! Get the others, I have a plan.”
Chapter 36
She’s most certainly not going in alone
Liam had gathered a few people in one of the meeting rooms. They stood around the round table and watched Ruby’s every move. She guessed that everyone here knew she was an AetherBorn. Zag and his sister Leah stood closer to her and Liam, while the elders huddled together at the opposite end, led by Alice. They were much older but held the same strong demeanor as Alice, forming a unified front of Elementals, all awaiting Ruby’s words. This was her first time meeting the Earth elders, and she couldn’t help but study their faces. They were afraid. Whether of her or of what was coming, she wasn’t sure.
There were two Fire soldiers guarding the door, and Liam assured her they could be trusted. Ruby did not want any ears in the room that he couldn’t vouch for. This plan was too important.
“What’s this about, Ruby?” Alice said.
“I know where the sword is, and I have a plan on how to get it. But before we go through with this, I need everyone to understand that the sword goes to me first. No one is to touch it.”
“Sweetheart, I understand you’ve been through a lot, but I don’t think you’re equipped to handle this. We have people who have been training for generations for this day, let’s let them make the decisions here.” Alice’s voice was condescending, but Ruby let it slide. She had had enough, there was no more time to play by their rules.
“I didn’t come here for opinions, Alice. I am an AetherBorn and the sword belongs with me.” She could see Alice’s eyes widen. Liam hadn’t told her that she knew about her family. Talking back like this to Alice felt wrong but she needed them to take her seriously. She wasn’t going to just sit back and wait for someone else to get hurt by their dumb war. Shaylah could have died in that attack. What if next time she’s not so lucky? “You’re either with me in this fight, or I go alone. But I sure as hell will not stand by and watch another pointless battle. Not when I can prevent it.”
“All right.” One of the Earth elders pushed past Alice and stepped up to the table. His wrinkled hand landing on the table to expose dirt ridden nails. He looked back at his twin sister as he spoke, her face as wrinkled as his hands, nodding for him to continue. “And how do we know for sure that you know its location?”
“Turns out, I’ve known where it is this entire time. The sword put itself in my path so that I could find it.” She turned her eyes to Liam. “This all would have been a lot easier if I’d known who I was when I first found out about my powers.”
“I agree.” Alice said. Maybe she had an ally in the elders after all.
“The sword is with the Water house. If we’re going by sheer power, I’m willing to bet it’s being held by Cyril Okenos.”
“Cyril is a Water Elemental?” Zag piped in. “I honestly would have thought the mayor would have it, being Air and all.”
“She probably did.” Ruby said, “But after the attack in the bank, I’m certain it was moved. Cyril is methodical, he always has been. Leaving the sword exposed would never be an option.”
“Where would he move it to?”
“Cyril’s offices. I’m sure it’s there. As close to him as possible.”
“How do you even know he’s Water? This seems far-fetched.” Zag was looking at Liam for support, but Liam’s eyes were on Ruby.
“Because his son, Jake, is Water. I saw the marks.”
“Sorry, Ruby. I didn’t know. That totally sucks.” He patted her on the back in support, but she shook it off. She was done feeling sorry for herself.
“Look, my best friend is an Elemental. Does that suck? Yes. But it gives us an in. I can use my connection to him.” She looked around the room at everyone’s confused faces.
“How exactly?” Alice asked.
“He cares about me. A lot.” From the corner of her eye she saw Liam’s face grimace. “And he’s waiting to hear if I feel the same way. It sounds trivial now, I know, but it’s the perfect way to get close to the sword. I’ll have to tell him what I am. Pretend I want to be with him...”
“I don’t like it.” Liam interrupted, and she smiled. It was nice to see him jealous.
“Tell him I can help him and his family, act like I want to be on their side.” She continued as if Liam had not spoken. “Once he takes me to the sword, I can make a move for it and get out before anyone figures out what happened.”
“Sorry, so, you’re planning to go into the Air and Water den alone and trick them into leading you to the sword? Absolutely not. No way. Too dangerous.” Liam pushed his balled fists onto the table to prove his point.
“It’s our only shot, Liam. No one else could get close to the sword like I can. Nobody would even know where to look!”
“Alice, are you hearing this?” He said.
“I am. And I don’t like it. But it’s the only way in. Ruby is right.”
“What? You’re planning to send her out there by herself without any protection at all?” He was shouting now, and Ruby rubbed his hand to calm him down.
“I didn’t say that. She’s right in that she’s our only way to the sword, but she’s most certainly not going in alone.”
“You don’t think I can handle Jake?”
“It’s not Jake I’m worried about, sweetheart.” Alice walked over to Ruby. “You’ll need back up in case things get out of hand.”
“Ok. But how?”
“Well, we know the location. Liam and the team will be nearby, waiting until you find out where they’re keeping the sword. Once you have the details, they will follow you into the building as backup. Just in case something goes wrong.”
“I don’t want anyone else to die, Alice.”
“I understand, Ruby. But we need to make sure you don’t either.”
She looked around the table. There was no arguing with them now. If Ruby wanted to get her hands on the sword, she would have to work with them. The idea of Liam coming with her left her helpless. What if something happened to him? What if the plan didn’t work and he got hurt?
The stakes were too high for her now. She had to help the resistance get the sword, it was the only way to stop the bloodshed. Their ent
ire future depended on Ruby convincing Jake that she loved him.
Better get to practicing your lines. She thought and leaned on Liam’s shoulder.
Chapter 37
Once and for all
Ruby watched Jake pick up their coffees from the counter. She was nervous about what was coming next, she hated lying, even if it was to someone who had betrayed her. Elemental or not, she couldn’t erase their past friendship overnight. She saw her phone vibrate on the table and threw it in her bag, convinced that it was Liam checking in.
“Just milk, right?” Jake pushed a coffee cup towards her.
“Yeah! Thanks!”
“So, what’s up?”
“Oh. Right.” She took a deep breath in, time to get it over with. “I wanted to talk about what you said the other day.”
“Finally.” He smiled, “I thought I freaked you out.”
“I mean, kind of. Just caught me off guard, I guess.”
“Sorry. I really don’t want to pressure you. I know you have a lot going on right now.”
“More than you know...” she said, hoping to start getting to the point.
“With school, you mean?” He was playing dumb and she knew it.
“I know what you are, Jake. Please stop pretending.”
“What I am?”
“Seriously, drop the act. If we’re going to be together, we can’t have secrets. And being an Elemental is kind of a big secret to keep, don’t you think?”
His face was stern but not surprised. She could see his lips turn upward; he was grinning. Like he was happy she was calling him out. “Be together?” He said.
“Well, yes. Unless you changed your mind...” This entire plan depended on Jake wanting to be with her, if he changed his mind, the resistance was in big trouble.
“No, of course not! I’m just surprised, that’s all.” He reached over and grabbed her hand. It took her everything not to jump back. “I’m really happy, Rue.”
She stared at his face, trying to find things wrong with it. Evil, hateful things to make her despise him for what he did. For being involved with the Elementals that had hurt so many of her friends. But all she saw was the boy she grew up with, the boy who, up until very recently, she had wanted nothing more than to be with forever.
“Me, too.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. Jake was surprised to hear how much she knew about the Elementals. She told him about the resistance, leaving out Liam and a few other parts that could make him question her motives. He, in exchange, filled her in on his involvement with his father’s business. Turns out, that he wasn’t just next in line for the business, he was being groomed to be the head of house, upon Cyril’s retirement next year. Evan’s death had hit the family hard, he was the stronger of the two brothers and Jake stepping in meant his entire life was derailed.
“Can I ask you a question?” Jake was nervously playing with the spoon in his coffee.
“Sure.”
“Why did you take so long to answer?”
“Honestly?” she said, “When I found out about the Elementals, I wasn’t sure I wanted you to be involved. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt. You’ve known about this your entire life, imagine finding all of this out right now? No warning at all, just thrown in the middle of it on a regular afternoon?”
“Yeah, I can see how that wouldn’t go over well.”
“Well, that’s an understatement. When you told me how you felt, I literally didn’t know how to react. Then, when I found out who you were...”
“How exactly did you find that out, by the way?” He interrupted.
“Uhm, here’s the thing,” It was time to tell him about her part in all of it. “I kind of can see Elementals.”
“See them how?”
“I get these visions. I can see things that other people can’t. Oh, and powers! I kind of have a lot of those.”
“So, you’re...” She could see him piecing it all together.
“An AetherBorn? Yep. Looks like it.”
“How did you even find this out? You had no idea before?”
“Not a clue. It just kind of fell in my lap and, well, here we are.” Ruby knew it was time to kick it into high gear, Liam was probably anxious to hear back from her with next steps. “Hey, Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“Remember that night we went for food and you had to go back to your dad’s office?”
“Uhm, yeah. Why?”
“Well, my place was broken into. By Elementals. Any chance your dad had something to do with it?”
“Rue, I’m so sorry.” His face sheepish, looking down, unable to make eye contact. “My dad was convinced you were a threat somehow. I swear, I had no idea about the whole AetherBorn thing or what he was planning. He just said we needed to make sure the resistance backed off. He kept talking about Evan and how we needed to pay them back. I can’t...”
“Wait, what? What about Evan?”
“The accident, Rue. It wasn’t just a coincidence. You know Evan, he would never sail the boat into land. Those rocks were put in his way. My dad is convinced it was an Earth move. Nothing I say matters to him when it comes to my brother’s death. I tried to stop it, I swear, I...”
“It’s ok. I’m not mad.” She lied. She was as mad as she could be. How could he think that it was alright to break into her home like that? Whether he was right about his brother’s death or not, she could never forgive him for letting his dad treat her that way. “But I need him to know I’m not a threat. In fact, I can help him. After what the resistance did at the bank, after Shaylah, they need to be stopped. I can help all of you with handling them.”
“What? How?”
“I need you to take me to him. I need to speak with him and the mayor right away. We might not have much time.”
“Time for what, Rue?”
“To silence the resistance once and for all.”
Chapter 38
I will need to see the sword
The elevator ride to the top floor of the Okenos office building was faster than Ruby anticipated. Being the tallest building in Westerlake, she half expected a scenic ride to the top, like you’d see in tourist attractions, but they reached the top floor within seconds.
She had managed to sneak away to the bathroom before they left the coffee shop to text Liam. Her instructions were to distract the elders while the resistance broke into the building as backup. Once they were in position, she was to text again and wait for their attack before making a move for the sword. It looked good on paper but having seen one too many bank robbing movies, Ruby wondered how well the plan was actually going to play out.
“Ready?” Jake asked, and squeezed her hand.
“Can’t wait.” She forced a smile on her face, hiding her nerves and fear.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a large, open space. There were windows on either side of them and looking out made Ruby nauseous. Long way to go if things don’t work out.
This floor was different than any office building Ruby had seen before. It looked more like a lab than a financial institution. The hallway walls were all frosted glass and she could see people in white coats in some of the rooms.
“Most of the research on Elementals and their powers gets done here.” Jake stated, seeing her confusion about the space.
“Research?”
“Where we practice our abilities, study literature, and...” he thought carefully about his next word, “store artifacts.”
The sword! She thought. She was right about its location.
“Got it.”
They walked to the last office on the floor. It was housed behind two massive metal doors with Elemental markings carved into it. This place was very different from the resistance, which right now felt more like a dungeon than a training ground.
“What’s with the marks?” she asked.
“Protection symbols. They’re supposed to enhance the power in the room. At least that’s what my dad says.�
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There were two guards standing on either side of the office entrance, Ruby could see their Air symbols glowing from down the hallway. Her powers of sight were getting stronger now, she was sure the sword had to be nearby. The guards would prove to be problematic if the plan derailed even slightly, hopefully, Liam was expecting some opposition and was coming prepared. Jake nodded in approval and they stepped aside to let them pass.
“Hey, dad! Someone wants to see you!” Opening the door let a blinding amount of light into the hallway, the office was surrounded by windows.
When her eyes adjusted, Ruby could see that Cyril was not alone. Next to his desk stood Elena Vanti, in her usual heels and fashion-forward suit.
That explains the guards, she thought. The mayor’s watch dogs.
She was so mesmerized by Elena’s appearance that she almost didn’t notice that Rhea was also in the room, sitting on the couch opposite the desk, entertaining Mihaela and Ioana. Ruby wondered if Jake’s mom’s entire job was to babysit the mayor’s children.
“Hello, Ruby.” Cyril said, “Rhea, darling, do you mind taking the girls for a walk?”
Rhea got up without so much as a protest and shuffled the kids out of the room. She could see Elena wink at her girls as they walked off and was relieved to know there was a heart behind the stilettos.
“Hi, Mr. Okenos. Ms. Vanti.” She nodded in their direction.
“Oh, please!” the mayor exclaimed, “Elena and Cyril will do just fine.”
“Ok.” Ruby said awkwardly. She was not about to start getting friendly with them.
“Jake mentioned you wanted to talk? That you have some information about the resistance that would be of use to us?”
Her eyes widened, it seemed small talk was not on the menu for today. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, everyone in the room was already aware of her powers and what she was, but it was still jarring for Ruby to speak about it so openly. Especially with people she barely knew. The most time she’d spent with Jake’s parents while growing up were a few awkward dinners, and this was her first time actually speaking to the mayor. If she wasn’t so motivated to get to the sword, she would have been star struck by their presence.
