Flame Caller

by Jon Messenger

  The owner looked up slowly from the glass he was absently cleaning and took in the odd sight of the Wind Warriors, most of whom were still dressed in their thin, white attire. His eyes drifted uncomfortably to the metal sword hanging from Thea’s hip. Xander couldn’t be certain but the owner seemed abnormally nervous after the description of Sammy. The owner’s eyes drifted over to the burnt table. Xander followed his gaze. The sight of the burnt table steeled his resolve and left an anger burning in his gut.

  “What happened to the table?” Xander asked.

  “I think it’s about time you all left,” the owner demanded.

  “Your table,” Xander repeated, pointing at the burnt surface of the round table.

  The owner set down the glass with which he’d been fidgeting to keep himself occupied. His hands continued from the surface of the bar and disappeared beneath its polished surface.

  “I don’t think you’re welcome here anymore,” the owner said sternly. “You need to leave.”

  Xander clenched his teeth. Something bad had happened here, he knew it. Worse, he knew that somehow Sammy had been involved. The owner had piqued his interest when he seemed so nervous at her description. Despite knowing his description matched the majority of the Fire Caste, the fact that they’d been here at all didn’t bode well for his hunt for Sammy.

  “I just want to find my friend,” Xander said, feeling the tension in the air.

  A gust of wind knocked open the shutters along the right wall. The owner jumped at the sudden noise and shivered as the gust of wind brought with it an arctic chill.

  The owner pulled his hands from beneath the bar. A shotgun was clenched firmly in his hands and he started turning its wide-bore barrel toward the Wind Warriors.

  “I’m getting real sick of you freaks coming into my bar and making a mess of the place,” the owner yelled. “I’m not going to ask you to leave again.”

  The gust of wind coalesced as it slithered across the surface of the bar under Xander’s control. The wind became a gale as it drove the barrel of the shotgun toward the ceiling. The owner squeezed the trigger reflexively and the rapport echoed through the vaulted room. The blast went harmlessly high, blasting a hole in the wooden ceiling.

  Xander’s eyes frosted over with white light as the breeze spun into a maelstrom in the center of the dining hall. The bottles of liquor behind the owner rattled loudly as they yearned to launch from their racks against the mirrored wall. The nearest tables screeched loudly as they slid against the hardwood floor, gouging lines in its lacquered surface. A pair of chairs—much lighter than the tables—were picked up by the vortex forming in the room and tossed by other nearby tables. The collection of furniture collapsed loudly onto the ground as it scooted further and further away from the angry, young Wind Warrior.

  The owner dropped his shotgun and raised his hands defensively as the windows on the front of the building cracked as a result of a sudden change in air pressure.

  Seeing the owner seemingly submissive, Xander released his grasp of the wind and the room fell immediately into silence.

  “I’m sorry,” the owner quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “The girl?” Xander asked calmly.

  The calm in his voice clearly left the owner more unnerved than if he had been yelling angrily. “I saw her this morning. She was taken by some other blonde people.”

  Xander clenched his fists, digging his fingernails into his palm until he swore they were bleeding.

  “Taken how?” Giovanni asked when he realized Xander would be unable to continue his line of questioning.

  “They had a car waiting. She seemed drugged or asleep, one. They stuffed her in the trunk and drove off.”

  “And you didn’t try to stop them?” Patrick interrupted.

  The owner stood taller and lifted his chin. “This ain’t the first time I’ve met these boys. You’ve seen my table over there. They tried to burn my place down around me last time they were here. I didn’t get to my ripe old age by being stupid. They want to toss one of their own in the trunk of a car and drive off, then I’m not getting involved. Ain’t no stranger worth risking my life over.”

  “You’re pathetic,” Thea spat before turning on her heel and walking out. Patrick and Alicia followed her out of the restaurant.

  The owner deflated as they left, looking apologetic under Xander’s stern gaze.

  “I’m sorry for your girl. I am. But there wasn’t anything I could do.”

  Giovanni placed his hand on Xander’s shoulder and led him out of the building. On the wooden deck, the other aunts and uncles turned toward Xander, waiting for him to speak.

  “They have her,” he said angrily.

  He couldn’t help but feel directly responsible. If he hadn’t sent her away, she wouldn’t have been within reach of the Fire Caste. To make matters worse, he didn’t even know how to find her. Sammy had told him that she had emerged from the desert outside of California but there was far too much land to cover to locate the Fire Warriors’ hidden entrance. Their only chance was finding the car they were driving.

  “The Fire Warriors took her, which means she’s in danger,” he said. “We’re going after them.”

  “Hold on, now,” Giovanni said. “I know you’re worried about her but we can’t go chasing after her without a plan.”

  “I have a plan. I’m going to kill them and get her back.”

  “I’m sorry for what happened, lad,” Patrick said. “No one’s pulling their foot out of their mouth more than me. I mean, she obviously wasn’t working for them if they were dragging her unconscious body around. But let’s keep everything in perspective. One Fire Warrior killed Bart and almost killed your grandfather. A group of them came back and finished the job, nearly killing the rest of us in the process. You go flying after them, all you’re going to do is get yourself killed and not be any closer to saving Sammy.”

  “So you want me to leave her to them?” he growled.

  “Aye,” Patrick replied, “that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “I know it’s not what you want to hear,” Thea interjected, “but it’s the truth. We can’t risk everything because we go off half-cocked chasing after the Fire Caste.”

  Xander shook but it was from sadness instead of rage. His knees buckled and he sat down heavily on the wooden planks of the deck.

  “I have to save her,” he said. “They’ll kill her if I don’t.”

  “If you want to save her,” Alicia said sweetly, “then you need to find the Wind Elemental. The power of the five of us, even combined, just isn’t enough to go storming into the home of the Fire Warriors. The only reason we’ve had any success defending ourselves so far is because many of the Fire Warriors are just now coming to terms with their power. In their home, though, you’re going to run into a much stronger group of elders, warriors like Sammy’s father. We’d never survive.”

  Giovanni crouched beside him and placed his hand on Xander’s shoulder. He waited until Xander lifted his chin and looked at the Italian before speaking.

  “You said you had an idea on how to find the Wind Elemental, yes? The quicker we can get to the Elemental, the better chance we have of not just saving Sammy but stopping the Fire Caste. We need you, Xander.”

  Xander nodded, knowing they were right. Left to his own devices, he would have flown immediately after the car of Fire Warriors. Thinking about it rationally, he knew his flight would have tipped off the warriors long before he reached the car, giving them a chance to prepare for him. No matter the unmatched power he harnessed, there wasn’t any guarantee that he would have succeeded or if they would have left Sammy unharmed as soon as he threatened them.

  “So what do we do?” Patrick asked callously.

  Xander stood and dusted himself off. He could see the dirt road leading away from the restaurant and longed to launch into the air and give chase. Rationality overwhelmed his emotional response as he took a deep breath.

&n
bsp; “We stick to the original plan,” he finally said. “We go to White Halls and find the one person in this whole screwed up world capable of finding the Wind Elemental.”

  The buildings of White Halls looked like models from their vantage point. Had there been people on the streets, Xander wasn’t even sure he’d be able to see them walking the sidewalks. It wasn’t an issue, however, since the streets were as abandoned now as they had been when he had visited Sean and Jessica previously.

  “You’re sure they’re down there?” Giovanni asked as he hovered in the air.

  From their height, they knew the Fire Warriors couldn’t detect their elemental power. Eventually they knew they had to land. The Wind Warriors seemed to be at odds about how to proceed—if caution was the right course of action when time was so short.

  “The Fire Warriors are there,” Xander replied sternly. “They’re down there and they’re waiting for us.”

  “All the more reason to proceed with caution,” Thea advised. “As soon as they sense us coming, they’ll be on us.”

  “I never pegged you as the type to back down from a fight,” Alicia said.

  Thea guffawed. “I’m not scared of the Fire Warriors. If they start a fight, I’ll be sure it’s the last thing they do in this life.”

  “That’s my girl,” Patrick laughed.

  “We’re not here to pick a fight,” Xander corrected. “There are dozens of them down there and we can’t risk another one of us getting hurt or worse. The planet couldn’t handle another one of us dying. It would rip itself in two.”

  “Then caution?” Alicia asked.

  Xander shook his head. “It would take us most of the day to land and sneak into the town without any powers. Even if we did sneak in, there’s no guarantee that we wouldn’t be recognized right away. Even without knowing our faces, the Fire Warriors would know we didn’t belong in White Halls.”

  “Then we’re back to picking a fight,” Patrick said, rubbing his hands together.

  “Only if we have to,” Xander agreed. “We swoop in, hold off any Fire Warriors that get too close, get the information we need, and get out. The less time we’re in town, the better.”

  “I hope your source is well informed,” Thea chided. “Otherwise this whole trip is going to put us in danger for nothing.”

  Xander swallowed hard but remained silent. Thea wasn’t the only one that hoped he was right. Xander was putting a lot of weight on Sean’s shoulders but something he had said during their last visit made him believe that Sean would have the answers.

  “He won’t let us down. Is everyone ready?”

  A round of wordless nods let Xander know it was time. With a deep breath, he tilted forward and began rapidly descending toward the college campus and the Greek row beyond.

  The buildings rocketed closer as they plummeted toward the ground. Small pockets of black smoke still rose from the smoldering remains of homes around town but the area toward which they flew seemed to have little fire damage. The buildings were hardly in great condition, though. The earthquakes that had rocked the planet had devastated the older homes. Their foundations had cracked, as had the support beams concealed in their walls. They had crumbled either during the earthquake or shortly thereafter. Few of the houses remained fully intact. To Xander, it seemed a solid mirror of the Wind Warrior island and its decimated houses.

  They skimmed over the top of the campus. A tug began in Xander’s stomach as he saw small flickers of light igniting around the perimeter of the campus’ central quad. Blonde heads turned upward as the group flew quickly past. As one, the Fire Warriors turned in the direction they were flying and ran after them.

  “They’re coming for us,” Giovanni said.

  Xander nodded. He knew they were quickly outpacing the Fire Warriors but any delay with Sean would leave them in greater danger.

  Greek Row appeared before them and they dropped down to street level. The Tri Delta house quickly approached and Xander slowed down until he could hit the ground in a run. The aunts and uncles touched down beside him and raced quickly after.

  The Tri Delta front door was closed and he couldn’t see any new damage to the building, either fire or structural. It gave him hope that his and Sammy’s quick departure hadn’t given away Sean and Jessica’s hiding spot. Smiling, Xander rushed toward the door.

  Patrick turned directions suddenly and slammed into Xander, knocking him to the ground. A giant ball of fire rolled lazily over his head, exploding as it struck a tree on the sorority’s front lawn. They both rolled from one another and looked at the Fire Warrior who emerged from his spot beside the neighboring fraternity house. Flames reemerged around his hand as he prepared for another blast.

  His eyes suddenly widened and his mouth opened in a choked scream. The Fire Warrior looked down in surprise as the tip of a steel sword emerged from his chest. Despite his dark armor, his bright red blood was obvious as it blossomed from the wound.

  The sword was rapidly pulled free as the Fire Warrior slumped to the ground. Thea looked down at the body, fresh blood still dripping from the edge of her blade. She looked up toward where Xander stared at her in disbelief.

  “Don’t give me that look,” Thea said sharply. “We’re at war. It’s about time you realized that. Our side shouldn’t be the only one suffering casualties.”

  Patrick pushed Xander’s shoulder from where he lay prone beside the younger Wind Warrior. “She’s right. Now get up, lad. The rest of the Fire Warriors won’t be far behind. Go find the Wind Elemental while we hold them off.”

  Xander scrambled to his feet, his eyes having trouble leaving the dead Fire Warrior lying on the ground in a growing pool of his own blood. He finally forced himself to look away and rushed to the door of the sorority. He banged on the door loudly.

  “Sean. Jessica. It’s Xander. Open the door.”

  The door creaked open and Sean peered out. Xander had no doubt that Jessica was concealed somewhere behind him with her telltale fire extinguisher still clutched in her hands.

  “Is my tree on fire?” Jessica yelled from her vantage point near the front window.

  “Let me in,” Xander demanded. “We don’t have much time.”

  Sean opened the door and stepped out of the way. Xander’s friend stood at the door a moment longer, watching the four Wind Warriors spread out defensively around the front of the sorority.

  “Friends of yours?” he asked as he closed the door quickly.

  “Those are the rest of the Wind Warriors.”

  “Didn’t you tell us that the Fire Warriors could sense when you guys are around?” Jessica said, setting down her fire extinguisher. “Doesn’t that mean they’re coming here now? Doesn’t that mean that in one quick moment you ruined all the hiding and sneaking we’ve been doing for the past week?”

  “We don’t have time for this, Jessica,” Xander chided.

  “Of course we don’t, now that you brought the psychotic murders down on us,” she retorted.

  Xander sighed and turned away from his ex-girlfriend. Sean smiled nervously.

  “So, what’s up, buddy?”

  Xander smiled at his friend. “I need your help. We’re trying to find someone… or something.”

  “Well, that should narrow it down,” Sean joked. “You want me to type that into Google?”

  “I don’t really have time to fully explain—”

  “Because you brought the Fire Warriors straight to us,” Jessica reiterated. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but some of them are already here.”

  Red and yellow light flickered suddenly through the closed blinds as a sharp pain struck Xander in the stomach. He grimaced but stayed upright.

  “There’s something called the Wind Elemental. Kind of an embodiment of all the powers the other Wind Warriors and I have. I think you know how to find her.”

  “Me?” Sean replied. “What makes you think I can help you find it?”

  “It was something you said last time I was here.
”

  “Was it, ‘Oh God, we’re all going to die’? Because I’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

  Xander pointed at the computer. “Are you still tracking the weather reports from around the world?”

  Sean nodded excitedly. “Oh yeah. You got to know, Xander. It’s getting really bad out there. California’s practically gone.”

  “What do you mean ‘gone’?”

  “The last earthquake struck right on the San Andreas Fault. Pretty much split California in two. Most of Los Angeles fell apart. Some of the coastal cities were washed away by a tidal wave. Wildfires are burning out of control in the areas away from the cities. I mean, it’s pretty much gone.”

  Xander bit his lip and frowned. “We can make it right,” he promised with a sense of false bravado, “but only if we find the Wind Elemental. Last time, you said there was a hurricane in the Atlantic, right?”

  Sean slid into the office chair and opened the web browser. A few keystrokes later, the world map appeared. The entire planet seemed to be consumed in varying degrees of red.

  “My God,” Xander whispered. He never could have guessed how widespread the devastation had been. It looked like every volcano on the planet had erupted all at once. The Pacific Rim seemed to glow with an inner light on the map. The line of destruction rolled along the edge of California. Many of the spots along the United States’ west coast had so many closely compiled individual red dots that it looked like the State was bleeding.

  “Yeah. Volcanoes, wildfires, lava flows, you name it,” Sean muttered.

  Xander tore his eyes away from the destruction, remembering the narrow time frame under which he was operating. He quickly scanned the map until his eyes settled over Iceland.

  “There,” he said, his finger tracing the swirling pattern hovering over the island. The hurricane was massive; the tendrils of the storm licked miles inland on Greenland and reached as far as the Canadian coast. “Is that the only non-fire disaster you can see?”

  Sean looked but quickly nodded. “I don’t see anything else. What does it mean?”