Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows

by Michelle Madow

  “Aidan just … left?” I swallowed, my voice cracking. “So easily? Have you heard from him since?”

  I knew the answer, but I needed to hear her say it out loud.

  “No.” She shook her head and turned back to her painting. “It’s like he fell off the planet.”

  I nodded, knowing I shouldn’t have hoped for anything else. If Aidan had wanted to be in our lives, he would have reached out to us. But he never had. He probably never would. The reminder of that hard truth stung every time.

  “Anyway, your dad’s going to be home soon,” Mom said. “How about we check out that restaurant near the cove for dinner? It’s supposed to be beautiful—floor to ceiling windows looking out over the water.”

  With that, the conversation was over, and I headed to my room to get ready for dinner.

  I hadn’t gotten the information I was hoping for, but I had a gut feeling that Aidan had to be a witch. It could be why he’d left. And now I was more determined than ever—I was going to get answers.

  If that meant staying in Darius’s homeroom, then so be it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Darius strolled into homeroom the next morning wearing another brown tweed suit. “Good morning,” he said, smiling when he saw that I was still there. “We have a lot to cover today, so let’s jump straight to it. Who can tell us about the event happening tomorrow night?”

  “Tomorrow’s the night of the Olympian Comet,” Blake answered smoothly, not bothering to raise his hand. “It’s coming around for the first time in three thousand years.”

  “Correct.” Darius said. “And who can explain the importance of the Olympian Comet?”

  “The comet is very powerful.” Danielle also hadn’t bothered raising her hand, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “The Olympians used its power to lock up the Titans and banish them from the Earth.”

  “Thank you, Danielle.” Darius gave her a small nod. “But let’s backtrack. Why did the Olympians want to lock up the Titans to begin with?”

  Kate’s hand shot into the air.

  “Kate?” Darius lifted his chin and smiled, like he knew whatever she said would be correct.

  “The Olympians are the children of the Titans,” Kate said, like she was reciting the answer from a textbook. “The fight between the Olympians and the Titans started after a prophecy that said that Cronus—the leader of the Titans—would be overthrown by his kids. In order to prevent this prophecy from happening, Cronus ate each one of his children after they were born. His wife eventually had enough of him eating their kids, so she rescued the youngest one—Zeus—by having Cronus eat a rock instead. She brought up Zeus in a secret cave. Once Zeus grew up he freed his brothers and sisters, who were still alive inside of Cronus’s stomach, and they all rebelled against Cronus, overthrowing him and his supporters in the Battle of the Titans. Then Zeus locked the Titans down in Tartarus—the deepest pit in Hades’ underworld—where he hoped they would stay for good.”

  “Good job, Kate,” Darius said, and she sat straighter, clearly pleased with herself. “But the Titans didn’t give up that easily. What did they do in retaliation?”

  “The Olympians retreated to their home on Mount Olympus, and the Titans used their time in Tartarus to plan the Second Rebellion,” Blake answered before anyone could raise a hand. “Cronus’s servant discovered a portal to escape Tartarus, and the Titans prepared for a battle to regain their place as rulers. They caught the Olympians by surprise, and they nearly won. But then a powerful comet shot through the sky, and the Olympians used the magic from the comet to gather enough energy to defeat the Titans once more. That’s why it’s named the Olympian Comet. This time the Olympians locked the Titans up in Kerberos—a shadow world that’s impossible to escape. They spent centuries banishing all of the Titans’ supporters—demons, monsters, and other evil creatures—to Kerberos as well, before sealing the portal and returning to Mount Olympus.”

  “Correct,” Darius said.

  For someone who’d been acting like this was all a myth yesterday, Blake sure knew this story well. But there was one big part that didn’t make sense.

  “If this is all true, why does no one believe in the Olympians anymore?” I didn’t raise my hand, since speaking out of turn seemed to be protocol around here. “If the Olympians are real, why don’t they show themselves and set everyone straight?”

  Some people in the back whispered, and Darius held his hands up for them to be quiet.

  “The Ancient Greeks used to worship the gods,” Darius explained, pacing in the front of the room. “Then the Romans adopted the religion, making it their own by renaming the gods and giving them traits that better suited their society. But the essence of their belief was the same. Then, their beliefs changed. Does anyone want to tell us why?”

  A blonde girl spoke up from the back of the room. “Constantine instated Christianity in Rome as an official religion around 300 CE,” she said softly. “The Romans swayed to Christianity, and monotheism overtook the Western world. But people continued to practice the ancient beliefs in secret, and Dodekatheism—the revival of ancient Greek religious practices—publicly re-emerged at the turn of the twentieth century. Our numbers might be small, but they do exist.”

  “Thank you, Jessica,” Darius said with a smile. “And to answer your second question, Nicole, the gods do occasionally journey to Earth, although it’s usually in disguise. In fact, it was Ares himself, the god of war, who was behind the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. As some of you may know from history classes, this assassination started World War I. Ares loves battles and slaughter, so creating that kind of turmoil is entertaining to him.”

  I nodded, even though I hadn’t taken European history yet and didn’t know much about World War I. “So the gods sometimes come down to Earth in disguise,” I repeated, trying to take this all in. “But what about all of the other … creatures? The ones from the stories who didn’t support the Titans in the Second Rebellion and who weren’t locked in Kerberos? What happened to them?”

  “The harmless ones still live among us, although they create illusions to hide their true forms,” Darius said. “They don’t want to risk humans killing them with technology or using them in experiments. Then there are some dangerous creatures who aren’t in Kerberos because they didn’t support the Titans in the Second Rebellion. They’re also aware that human technology is a threat, so they keep a low profile. The Elders take care of any problems they create.”

  I nodded, since I had a feeling that “taking care” of them meant killing them.

  “More present-day references to the Greek gods exist than you realize,” Darius continued. “Chris’s shoes are a prime example.”

  I glanced at Chris’s sneakers, which looked like they came straight from the eighties—white with the blue Nike swoosh mark on the side. I had a similar pair in pink.

  “Sneakers are from the Greek gods?” I asked. “I always thought the Greeks wore leather sandals.”

  “Not sneakers.” Darius chuckled. “I’m referring to the brand. Nike.”

  I frowned, because of course I’d heard of Nike. My town in Georgia might be small compared to Kinsley, but I wasn’t from another planet. “How does Nike relate to the gods?” I asked.

  “Nike is the Greek goddess of victory, speed, and strength.” He counted off each trait on his fingers. “Does the Nike swoosh remind you of anything else?”

  “Isn’t it a checkmark?”

  “Look closer,” he said. “What else do you see?”

  I squinted and tilted my head to view it from a different angle. “Nothing else,” I said. “Only the checkmark.”

  “As most people do.” He took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his sweater. “But the goddess Nike is also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The swoosh is the shape of a wing.”

  “Hmm.” I studied Chris’s shoes. “Now that you say it, I do kind of see it.”

  Darius smiled, then
refocused on the class. “As I mentioned before break, we’re going to view the comet together tomorrow night.” He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the board. “This is my address, and I expect you all to be there by 9:00 PM. This event should be viewed as a mandatory ‘field trip.’ Anyone who doesn’t show up without a written excuse from a parent will have detention for a month.”

  The bell rang, and I wrote down the address.

  After all, the last thing I needed on my first week at a new school was detention.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Darius lived on Odessa Road, the main street through town. Kate and I arrived at his house about five minutes before nine o’clock. Wind whipped through the air as we walked down the sidewalk, and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ignore the numbing cold.

  Darius’s log cabin didn’t fit in with the typical New England homes in the area. Trees surrounded it on all sides, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was the only house around for miles.

  Hearing chattering from outside, Kate and I followed the sidewalk to the backyard. It was big enough to fit everyone from our homeroom. No clouds blocked the stars, making it a perfect night to watch the comet.

  The only thing not perfect was the temperature. Even though Kate told me that it was warmer than a usual January night in Massachusetts, my blood still felt like it would turn to ice if I stood in one place for too long. Hopefully the leggings underneath my jeans, the black sheepskin boots that reached my knees, and puffy jacket would be enough protection from the biting cold.

  People were gathered on the deck, around a steel container for drinks, and I walked over to grab one. Hot chocolate came out of the small faucet. I blew on it to cool it down, enjoying the tingling warmth of steam on my cheeks.

  “Are you excited for the comet?” someone asked over my shoulder. I jumped, splattering a few drops of hot chocolate on the deck, and turned to find Chris. I hadn’t noticed his eyes before, but now, under the glow of the moon, they appeared almost yellow.

  “It should be interesting,” I said, taking a sip of hot chocolate. It scorched my tongue, burning as it made its way down my throat.

  “Hot?” he asked, his eyes dancing in amusement.

  “Yes.” I lowered my cup and blew on it. “Very.”

  “So, we’re supposed to form groups of five when we watch the comet.” Chris pushed some hair off his forehead, and he continued, “I was thinking we could be in the same group. If you wanted to.” His eyes filled with hope, and I had a feeling that he’d been waiting to ask all night.

  “That sounds great.” I smiled to show that I meant it and wasn’t just agreeing to be polite.

  Kate headed over to us, and her eyes flashed with what looked like hurt when she looked at Chris. I blew on my hot chocolate again and took a step away from him. If Kate had feelings for him, I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. Because yes, Chris was nice, but I’d never thought of him as more than a friend.

  “Do you all want to be in the same group?” She looked back and forth between Chris and me, toying with the ends of her hair.

  “Yes,” I said. “Of course.”

  Then someone else joined us—Blake. He stepped between Chris and me to grab his own hot chocolate, his gaze meeting mine with so much intensity that I could barely breathe. I took another sip of my drink, glad when it didn’t burn my tongue, and waited for him to say something.

  “Does your group have room for two more?” he asked.

  “It’s just the three of us,” I said, my voice shaking. Hopefully he would think it was because of the cold and not because of his effect on me. “So yeah, we need two more.”

  The other person he was referring to must be Danielle. She stood at the edge of the deck with her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl plastered across her dark red lips. She reminded me of an angry lioness about to pounce on its prey. I broke my gaze away from hers, not wanting to look at her for a second longer. I couldn’t help but think that she hated me, even though we’d never actually spoken to each other.

  Given what Kate had told me about her, I should be scared. But I wasn’t. Because according to Darius, I had powers, too. I was one of them. Danielle might mess around with humans, but she wouldn’t hurt one of her own.

  At least I hoped not.

  Darius walked to the middle of the yard and cleared his throat. The chattering stopped.

  “It’s time to begin,” he said, his voice carrying in every direction. “Please put down your drinks, find an empty place in the yard, and have your group gather in a circle. Take off your gloves if you’re wearing them so they won’t interfere with the energy passed between you and your group members.”

  Chris placed his half-empty cup down on the table. “Come on,” he said, bounding off the deck and onto the yard.

  Blake joined up with Danielle, and I followed them towards the spot that Chris had claimed. Kate trailed behind. Once we were all there, I looked up, gasping at what I saw.

  The comet was already streaking through the sky, and it was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. It shined yellow, with a hint of blue surrounding the edges, a trail of white growing wider behind it. It crawled at a steady pace. Unlike meteors, which flashed by in a second, the comet would stay visible for about an hour.

  The comet was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it was real and not a special effect like in the movies.

  The five of us joined hands, Blake on one side of me and Chris on the other. I’d expected to be more affected from Blake’s touch than Chris’s, but that wasn’t the case. Both carried warmth, and a sense of security that I’d never felt before.

  Darius didn’t have to explain what to do next. I knew to close my eyes and focus on the energy surrounding us. It pulsated from every direction, and unlike the other day in homeroom, when I’d focused on gathering the energy and letting it in through my palms, it already existed inside me—in orbs of white that joined into a single whole. The light flowed out of my palms and through the rest of the circle. A rush of colors burst through me—green, blue, red, and yellow—twisting around each other like streamers in the wind.

  The comet flashed through my mind, followed by a burst of power that exploded into a bright white light. Electricity shot through every inch of my body. Then the streams of colors unwound, each glowing with a brightness that it hadn’t had at first. Each one fled out of my palms and returned to from wherever it came.

  I pulled my hands out of Chris’s and Blake’s, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. I relaxed my muscles and flexed my hands, opening my eyes and studying the others to see if they’d felt the same thing.

  Their shocked looks said it all. Gone was the anger from Danielle’s face, softened into what I could only describe as vulnerability. Chris stared up at the sky, his mouth open as he gazed at the comet. Kate seemed dazed, like she’d just woken up from a nap, and she looked around at all of us, her eyes wide. Blake seemed to have regained his composure, if he’d lost it at all, and he watched me closely, like he thought I could explain whatever had happened.

  But I was as confused as they all looked. After all, I’d only known about this witchcraft stuff for a few days. I was the least qualified to provide any sort of explanation. Especially because on top of everything, their eyes all seemed brighter, as if enhanced. Danielle’s were bluer, Kate’s greener, Chris’s more yellow, and Blake’s a more intense shade of that burnt, reddish brown. My eyes had always been a pale, boring gray. But had they changed, too?

  “What on Earth was that?” Chris finally broke the silence.

  “You all felt it, too?” Kate’s voice sounded weak, and she played with her hands, looking around the circle.

  Danielle nodded. “If you’re talking about that whole ‘feeling like you were in a bathtub and someone dropped a hairdryer in it thing,’ then yeah, I felt it.” She flung her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest, although she still didn’t look a
s tough as she’d seemed before the comet.

  “What was supposed to have happened?” I asked.

  “None of us know.” Kate gazed up at the sky, a distant look in her eyes. “We’ve never done a meditation under the Olympian Comet before.”

  “Obviously.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “This comet comes around once every three thousand years. It’s pretty safe to assume that you’ve never done this before, unless witches are immortal and no one’s told me yet.”

  “We’re not immortal.” Blake laughed. “But I don’t think any other group felt what we did. If they did, they’re not acting like it.”

  I looked around the yard to see what he meant. The closest group to us consisted of freshmen. They were all frowning, their brows furrowed in disappointment. They must not have felt the energy jolt. Other students talked and laughed with each other. Some looked up at the comet as it made its way through the sky, their mouths open in awe. But not one person had a similar look of shock and confusion that I’d seen on the faces of the others in my group.

  Suddenly, thunder cracked through the air, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Dark clouds covered the stars that had shined brightly only minutes before. They were so thick that the comet dimmed to a barely visible orb of light. The temperature felt like it had dropped at least ten degrees. Before I could process what was happening, sleet pounded down from the sky, the pinpricks of cold coming down so fast that they created a layer of ice on my skin and clothes.

  I looked up in confusion, shielding my eyes from the sleet. I’d checked the weather before leaving. This hadn’t been in the forecast.

  “Everyone get inside!” Darius screamed, a boom of thunder drowning out his words.

  My boots squished in the mud as I hurried across the yard, and I tried not to slip on the layer of ice forming on the ground. Finally, I made it inside the house. I removed my boots, adding them to the pile of dirty shoes next to the door, and placed my hands on my cheeks to warm them up.