The Elementals: An Elemental Origins Novel

by A. L. Knorr

  Her gleaming head broke the surface, her vibrant eyes open. Water trickled over her face and neck and down her hair. Her lips parted as she looked at us. On her face was a thicket of emotions: relief, anxiety, love, wonder, and a question.

  "Mira would be very unhappy with me to know that I have shared our secret." Targa's white shoulders lifted and her expression said, but what else could I do? "I have to trust that after everything you have all shared, I was supposed to share this with you. You now understand how important keeping your identity a secret is." She swam toward us and came half out of the water. She held out her hands.

  Akiko, Georjie, and I went to the pool’s edge and grasped her hands.

  "Promise me," Targa began. She didn't have to finish her request, but she did anyway. "You'll tell no one what you know about me and my mother, and I will keep your secrets, too."

  We promised. It was unnecessary, yet necessary at the same time. Somehow, saying the words made everything feel more real, more sacred.

  Targa's face lost some of its worry. We released our hands.

  "Did this just happen to you this past summer?" I asked.

  Targa nodded. "I was born to a siren…"

  "A siren?" Akiko cocked her head. "I thought sirens were different from mermaids?"

  "There are many varying mythologies about sirens and mermaids," Targa explained. "I've read pretty much everything that has ever been written about us, and most of it is wrong. Even the stuff that seems like it was written by someone who met a mermaid doesn't get it all right. Maybe there are other creatures called sirens who are more like the bird-women of Greek mythology, but we mermaids have hypnotic and irresistible voices which we can use to make humans do whatever we wish. Most mermaids use this voice to win themselves a mate and ensure the survival of the species with the strongest human male they can find. My mother and my father—"

  "Nathan," said Georjie, her eyes sad. "What a sweet man your dad was. He was your biological father?"

  Targa nodded. "They were so in love. My mother didn't use her siren voice on him and the outcome was me. At first, we thought I was a dud. Turns out I had never made the transformation because we didn't know how to trigger my siren genes. For most mermaids, all it takes is exposure to salt-water when we're very young. For me…" She gave a secret smile. "It was a little more complicated than that. I had to die."

  "You had to what, now?" I croaked.

  "I had to drown. I had to take seawater into my lungs, and my heart had to stop and then start again before my mermaid genes were fully expressed."

  "You died this past summer?" Georjie squeaked. "Geez. I think that wins the prize."

  "I believe that is what happened." Targa nodded. "Antoni and I got caught in a storm. I drowned. When I came to, I had this." She gestured toward her tail. "And a lot more power than even Mira has."

  "Powers over water?" Akiko was leaning so far out over the pool, peering at Targa, that I thought she was going to fall in. I resisted the urge to give her a little push.

  "Show us?"

  Targa sank into the pool and swam backwards. Behind her, an explosion of water sprayed upward, making a backdrop that framed her. With a crackling sound, the entire wave turned to ice. A hail of ice chips splattered into the pool like rain, but the main body of the wave stayed intact and bobbed in the water like an ice cube. Targa was smiling.

  The girls and I laughed with delight.

  Targa lifted her arms, fingers spread wide, and before our eyes, she lifted herself on a pillar of water high enough to touch the glass ceiling.

  "Show off," called Georjie.

  "Nah," Targa called back with a glimmer in her eye. "This is showing off."

  The water reversed direction. The pillar Targa had been riding sank back into the pool and continued descending, a dimple formed, around which Targa circled. The water at the edges of the pool climbed, and kept climbing. The pool did not overspill its banks, but rose while keeping its square shape.

  Akiko reached out and touched the water, swirling it back and forth in front of our faces.

  Georjie and I did the same. The water closed over my hand but when I pulled it back, it dried instantly, as though the water was not allowed past where Targa had put it. I put both hands in the water and swept them in circles. I tried to splash Georjie, but the water wouldn't do my bidding.

  Targa's shape swam past us and I reached out and touched her tail, feeling the smooth scales. The water became noticeably warmer. I gasped and looked at Georjie, who looked back at me, feeling it too.

  "Is there anything you can't do with water?" I asked.

  Targa circled and poked her head out of the wall of water. It was a bizarre sight as all the water squeezed out of her hair and from her face. Her head emerged, totally dry, her long hair dangled and swayed.

  Targa just shrugged and smiled. Her shoulders emerged, then her chest and stomach. She was out of the water to the waist now, her spine bending as she held herself upright. Her tail moved sinuously behind her.

  "That's so weird," Georjie said, pulling back to take a better look. "You look like one of those stuffed animal heads mounted on a wall."

  Targa slid backwards, swallowed up once again. She released the water with a crash and the three of us squealed as we were soaked from head to foot. Plants dripped and saltwater landed in our drinks.

  "Ack!" Akiko's hair was plastered to her face and when she pushed it back it stuck out in all directions.

  "That was for telling her she looked weird," I gasped, water dripping off my nose.

  Georjie flicked her hands and arms to get rid of some of the water and started to wring out her hair.

  I cranked up my internal flame until my clothes and hair started steaming.

  Georjie and Akiko watched as I evaporated all of the water on me with a smug smile.

  "Brat." Akiko shook her head.

  Targa emerged from the pool in her human form and pulled on her bikini bottoms. "Got a little wet, did ya?"

  "Yeah, thanks for that." Georjie pulled her sodden hoodie away from her body. "Gross. Now I have to go change again." Her eyes were sparkling.

  Targa noticed my fluffy, curly hair and dry clothes. I shot her a flinty, arrogant grin and crossed my arms.

  With a flick of her wrist, a wave jumped out of the pool and splashed over only me. The water was freezing and shocked the breath out of me.

  Georjie and Akiko bellowed laughter as I sat there in frozen wet surprise. "You know," I gasped, "it's not like I can't burn all your hair off if I wanted to."

  "Go on then," she taunted me.

  "Gawd, four seconds into sharing our most intimate secrets and you two already want to do battle." Akiko had her robe off and was wringing it out over the pool. "Seriously."

  Again I used my inner fire to steam off all the water from my clothes, skin, and hair. Vapor misted off my body.

  "You can't get off that easy," Georjie called from the sliding door where she stood with her palm on the handle. Her eyes flickered white.

  "Don't you—" I started.

  A green vine came out of nowhere from across the pool, snaked around my waist and jerked me backward into the water. As soon as the plant released me, I stood up, coughing and gasping.

  "—dare," I finished.

  I glared at Georjie, one corner of my mouth lifted. I turned up the heat until the water around me started bubbling and boiling.

  Thick steam clouded the greenhouse, obscuring everything from view—the plants, my friends, even the pool. The water drained around me as it evaporated at high-speed. Only when it was thigh-deep did I turn off the heat.

  It began to rain. Not just rain, but pour in heavy sheets. The girls squealed and laughed.

  "You are in so much trouble," I heard Georjie yell from the doorway.

  The sound of a torrential downpour was so loud I fought the urge to cover my ears. I could see my friends crouching beneath the deluge. I climbed out of the pool as the water rose, and I took shelter un
der a broad-leafed plant.

  Akiko groaned as the rain began to let up. "You're worse than guys! Seriously? Enough with the pissing contest!"

  Targa raised her arms. Her fingers beckoned to all corners of the room as she turned. Watching her was hypnotic.

  Saltwater ran from every surface; off plants, off our clothes and hair, from the moss surrounding the pool. It poured back into the pool, every last drop. Everything was dry again, and it was as though nothing had happened. Targa put her hands down.

  "Are we done now?" she asked.

  Georjie returned from where she'd been near the door, her hair and clothing dry.

  "I am if you are," she shot at me. She looked ready to raise her hands and call some of her plant friends into mischief.

  I put my palms up. "I'm good. I think we've established who is the most powerful around here."

  "Have we?" Targa canted her head.

  "Well, obviously." I said. "Fire is clearly the most dangerous and powerful element. It destroys everything."

  "Here we go." Akiko rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by children."

  "Water puts out fire. I don't get how you think fire is more powerful." Targa rocked back on her tailbone and wrapped her arms around her shins.

  "Fire dissolves water, didn't I just prove that?"

  "But it can't destroy it," Targa shot back.

  "I'll bury you both in about four tons of earth right now if you don't quit it." Georjie settled herself into an Adirondack chair and crossed her legs.

  Akiko smacked her palm against her forehead. "Elementals," she groaned.

  "Elementals," Georjayna echoed. "That's what we are." She put an index finger to her chest. "Earth." She pointed at me. "Fire." She swung her finger to Targa. "Water."

  We all looked at Akiko and I said, "Air."

  Akiko shook her head. "I'm not Air. I have no power over air. I don't even think I'm an Elemental."

  I frowned. "But it fits. You said you can fly to the Æther, thirty-thousand feet above the earth's surface. If that's not an Air Elemental, what is?"

  "But shouldn't I be able to make storms and high winds or something? I can't do that. Plus, Æther is not considered an element by most cultures. Æther is something different, belonging more to the realm of spirit than flesh."

  "Whatever you are, you're a supernatural," Targa said. "We're all supernatural. We all know each other, we've been friends for years. So, why us? And why this summer?"

  "You know why you," I said to Targa. "With you, it’s genetic. Your mom is a mermaid. You've always had the genes in you."

  Targa nodded. "But you and Georjie aren't from supernatural parents, as far as you know."

  "My mother is definitely not supernatural," Georjie said with a laugh.

  "My parents aren't, but my brother Jack…" I began to say this without really thinking about it, then stopped. Would Jack mind if I told the girls about his power? I thought not, since they knew about mine and they all had their own, but I wasn't sure. On the other hand, after the way I'd pressured Targa, it wasn't really fair to keep any more secrets. This was an all-in situation.

  "Jack, what?" Akiko encouraged.

  "Jack is some kind of supercharged empath," I explained. "He and I butted heads hard when I first arrived home, because of all those arson incidents in Saltford."

  Targa's eyes widened. "He thought that was you?"

  "Thank you," I said, grateful that she didn’t even question my innocence. "Yes, he did. The twit. Although," I shrugged a shoulder, "can't blame him for thinking it. Every time he came near me, all he could feel was heat."

  "Sorry, but what's an empath?" asked Georjie. "I don't think I've heard that term before."

  "Someone who can pick up on the mental or emotional states of others," Akiko explained. "But you mean this in a paranormal way, I presume, not just that he's sensitive?"

  "Yeah, seriously paranormal. He could tell me how I felt about telling my parents my secret and how much I want to attend Arcturus. It was unnerving. Feels like I can't have any secrets from him, like ever, now."

  "So, is it the fact that we know one another and are close that this happened to us? Or do you think it’s happening to lots of people and we just don't know it?" Akiko wondered.

  "I have a theory about that–" Georjie began.

  The knocker on the front door sounded off three times.

  "Who could that be, at…" I grabbed my watch from where I'd stuffed it into the toe of my shoe. "Great Scott! It's eight in the morning!"

  "The sun was up over an hour ago, Saxony." Targa laughed at me.

  "Great Scott?" Akiko raised an eyebrow at me as Georjie was getting to her feet. "Sleep deprivation transforms you into Christopher Lloyd?"

  My jaw cracked with a yawn as I got to my feet to follow Georjie. "Who is Christopher Lloyd?"

  Akiko rolled her eyes. "Millennials."

  "Centenarians," I mimicked, shoving her sideways toward the pool.

  "Hey!" She staggered and caught herself before falling in.

  We followed Georjie out of the greenhouse and up the steps to the front foyer. Georjie stopped at the top step and laughed at the cluster of us behind her. "I can answer the door by myself, you guys."

  "I wanted to check my phone anyway." I reached for my mobile.

  "Me too," said Targa, reaching for hers.

  "I just love your company so much I didn't want to be without y'all," Akiko drawled.

  I clicked on my phone. "Crikey, I can’t believe we were up all night!”

  "Crikey? You must have learned that one from Basil.” Georjie unlocked the door and swung it open.

  6

  Petra

  The sky was a fetching palette of autumn blues and peaches as the sun worked its way into the sky over the Atlantic. A smudge of clouds hugged the horizon, but it promised to be a glorious fall day.

  I turned off my car and glanced at my cell phone to check the time: 7:55. I peered through the window at the palatial white house with the four columns along the porch and the green trim around the windows.

  I frowned. Eight a.m. was awfully early on a Sunday to be knocking on strangers’ doors, but Jody assured me that this morning would be the best time. I got out, closed my car door, and crossed the street.

  My stomach was aflutter with nerves. I had my pitch relatively straight, I thought. The objective was simply to get the girls to attend a presentation at the field station. No other commitment would be required. If I could do that, my first assignment would be considered a success.

  Alright then.

  I took the steps two at a time and used the door knocker. A minute later, I heard voices and soft footfalls of people moving either up or down a set of stairs.

  The door opened and four girls peered out at me curiously.

  "Can I help you?" the tall blond one asked.

  "I'm Air," I said, as Jody had instructed me to introduce myself. I felt stupid, but she'd insisted they would respond better to this introduction than any other. Since they were Elementals, it would tell them a lot without having to make a long explanation.

  The shock on all four faces was instant and profound. I had shaken them, and badly. I immediately regretted listening to Jody.

  "I'm sorry," I amended. "My name is Petra. I'm an Elemental, like you. I was wondering if I could chat with you? It won't take long. I believe we might be able to help each other."

  The shock seemed to deepen and the air felt laden with bewilderment. Apparently, I had just made things worse. I opened my mouth to offer some kind of comfort when the petite girl with honey-colored eyes said, "You'd better come in."

  "Thanks." I gave a relieved exhale. "I'm sorry, I can tell I've upset you. It wasn't my intention."

  "Wait," the vivacious looking redhead with the strange reflective eyes said, raising a hand. She held a cell phone in her hand, face up as though she'd just been looking at it. Her voice rasped nicely over my eardrums. This girl had to be the fire mage. She might as well have had '
fire' tattooed on her forehead.

  "How did you know we were here?" Fire demanded. "Who are you? Besides…'Air'?" She said the last word with a slight curl of her upper lip.

  I sensed mistrust from her that was absent in the other women. Whatever her story was, she'd been through something that had made her extremely wary.

  "I knew you'd be here because my supervisor told me you'd be here. I don't know how she knew, but she did. And I can explain further out here on your porch, but I think this conversation would best be done in private." I said all this without any attitude or suggestion of threat in my voice. It wasn't easy. The redhead was now glaring at me. I stomped on the desire to read her mind. It was too early in the day for a headache. I could always fall back on telepathy if things deteriorated.

  "Your supervisor?" the tiny Asian girl asked. She was the one I had been told the least about, since she wasn't of interest to TNC. She couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds soaking wet. Though she had the stature of a child, her eyes sent a shiver through me. They looked old. Ancient, even. What are you? I wondered. I realized, now that I was really looking at her, that I had seen her face before.

  "Just come in," said the blond one who looked like she'd spent most of the summer lying in the sunshine. "I apologize for my rude friend." She elbowed the redhead and shot her a glare, then extended a hand to me. "I'm Georjayna."

  I took her hand, gladly. "Petra Kara."

  "Georjie," the redhead husked in a tone full of warning, clearly not pleased but hesitating to say why in my presence.

  "Really?" Georjayna answered her friend. "Are you really afraid of her? Look at her!" She waved a long arm in my direction. "She's just a kid, like us."

  Georjayna shut the door behind me.

  I couldn't help but smile at the implication Georjayna was making. Why should they be afraid of me? These girls had supernatural abilities. They were exponentially better equipped to protect themselves and one another than any normal human.

  "And she's one of us," the blond continued. "Weren't we just saying it would be nice to meet someone like us? Someone with some answers?" She swung her brown eyes in my direction. "Do you have answers?"