The ground beneath their feet shook violently as though its rage was trying to tear the cave apart. The mortar holding the stones of the bridge together bubbled and melted from the onslaught. Stones gave way against the leftmost edge of the bridge, and one of the two escorts tumbled over the side. His scream of surprise was cut short as lava shot upward to meet him.
The other Fire Warrior hurried across the bridge and collapsed onto the small inlet of land between the bridge and the castle wall.
The Fire Elemental howled again, and a thunderous crack split the air. One of the giant stalactites hanging on the ceiling high above broke from its mooring and plummeted downward. It crashed onto the land, sending shards of Ignatius rock scattering across the ground.
On the face of the castle, the obsidian split violently; a crack formed from the base of its foundation to the parapets above.
General Kobal stormed out of the castle gates and approached as close as he dared to the enraged Elemental. He raised a hand to his eyes, protecting his face from the waves of heat that radiated from the possessed woman.
“Master,” he yelled, though the din of crackling flames stole most of his words.
“Master, please. You must stop or you’ll bring the whole cavern crashing down on our heads.”
The Elemental looked up at the tall, broad-shouldered general and saw fear reflected in the man’s eyes. Slowly the aura of flames around it receded, and the devastating shaking subsided. The room seemed to shake for a moment longer as the cavern settled around its new fissures.
“That Wind Warrior has become a gnat,” the Elemental said as it climbed to his feet. “A parasite that has attached itself to me, feeding off my anger. He must be excised immediately before he has the chance to do more harm.”
The red eyes closed as the Elemental projected itself across the planet.
The giant orb appeared in the sky once more, this time hovering above a mountaintop. General Abraxas stood on a stony perch, looking down on a city lit by a sea of neon lights. Unlike Los Angeles, this city survived the massive earthquakes relatively unscathed, as though its inhabitants built in anticipation of such an event.
Abraxas raised his head and immediately bowed again to the glowing eye. “Master, you’ve returned so soon.”
“Our enemy has found and awoken the Water Elemental while I was busy acclimating to my new body.”
Abraxas looked stunned. “He already has the power of the Water Elemental as well?”
The Fire Elemental canted its head as it probed for the Water Elemental. It could feel her presence, but it seemed remote when compared to the more obvious wind power that Xander controlled.
“No,” the Elemental replied coyly. “He has awoken the Water Elemental, but her power is not yet his. Now is the time to strike. Xander Sirocco is on the move. With the power I’ve given you, you will be able to follow his general movements as I have, even if his power protects him from us discerning his exact location.”
“What are your orders, Master?”
“He must not have the chance to absorb the power of the Water Elemental. Find the Wind Warrior and kill him at once.”
Abraxas smiled wickedly, revealing his rows of sharpened teeth. “As you wish.”
“General Abraxas,” the Fire Elemental added. “I know your personal hatred for the man, as surely as I’ve felt residual hatred from this body toward you. Don’t let your personal ambitions get in the way of the mission I’ve laid before you. I tasked you with this so that you could destroy our enemy, not so you could resolve a personal vendetta. Don’t fail me.”
As the sight of General Abraxas faded from his view, the Elemental was faced with the same sense of guilt and disappointment it’d felt before. It glanced up at Lord Balor and saw the man’s inquisitive look. Angrily, the Elemental suppressed those unusual feelings and called over General Kobal.
“Prepare your forces, General. We march on the surface immediately.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Xander asked. He was still rooted in place, watching her return to her pool.
The Water Elemental ignored him as she continued her quiet march up the darkened hill.
“I’m talking to you,” Xander said, feeling his ire rise. They had risked everything to come here, including losing loved ones and depowering the entire rest of the Wind Caste. He couldn’t believe her obvious derision.
As before, she ignored him and continued her climb.
“Don’t you walk away from me!” Xander said.
The wind rushed down the whirlpool and slammed into the ground at her feet, forming a near solid wall of air. As the Water Elemental came into contact with the wall, the wind shear splattered parts of her bioluminescent body. She stepped back angrily and spun on Xander.
“Remove your wall, human.”
Xander didn’t even bother shaking his head. He stared at her through white, glowing eyes that gave off their own light in the darkness.
Behind her, the roar of the wind grew until it was deafening. He could see the vibrations of its sound shaking her liquid form.
“I told you to release me,” she said.
“And I told you that we weren’t done talking,” Xander said.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so angry with someone. Sammy’s life hung in the balance—the whole world did too—and the Elemental was the key to saving everyone he loved. This decision shouldn’t have been as difficult for someone as seemingly omnipotent as the Water Elemental.
“What is your problem? The Fire Caste is preparing to destroy everything you and the other Elementals have worked so hard to create and, instead of helping me, you’re crawling back into your pool of water to hide.”
The Water Elemental stormed down the hill, stopping directly in front of Xander.
“Don’t you lecture me about the world we created. Your life is a drop in the ocean compared to mine. I’ve seen the best and the worst of humanity. I’m the only one who will decide if I help you and I decided not to.”
Xander’s eyes drifted to her clenched fists, remembering how quickly they could become blades and how painful their cut could be. He hadn’t intended to be so confrontational, but time was definitely not on his side.
“What happened to you?” Jessica asked, rubbing her arms to ward off the biting cold. Her tone wasn’t accusatory but genuinely filled with concern. “Why do you hate us so much?”
The Water Elemental scowled at the blond woman. Her arm swept out to the side, and Xander tensed for another attack. Instead, the Water Elemental gestured to the ruined city around her.
“This city was the beacon of all that the Water Caste offered. Science and elemental magic intertwined. Beauty and peace. And it was destroyed by the same humanity you now want me to save. Destroyed for greed, envy, and lust.”
Xander shook his head. “But you agreed with the other Elementals to create me in the first place.”
“I agreed when I still believed in humanity. I agreed when I though humanity deserved a chance to grow and mature.”
“And now you don’t?” Sean asked, joining the others.
“Do you know that when an Elemental slumbers, they’re still completely connected to their element? I am not just part of the water—I am the embodiment of the water. And while I slept, I felt poisons dumped into my rivers and oceans. I felt masses of refuse clumping together to form virtual islands in the sea. I felt the cry of my sea life as they were harvested nearly to extinction to feed the gluttony of humanity. You want me to help save humanity... but where are the humans trying to save the water? What possible reason do I have to try to save humanity from itself?”
“I can’t argue about what humanity has done in the past,” Xander said. “Yeah, humans have killed fish and dumped chemicals into the water. I’m not going to deny that. But the people that do that are a small minority. The average person like Sean, Jessica, and me, we’re not destroying the oceans. You can’t blame everyone for the poor decisions of a few hum
ans. You can’t just stand by and let everyone die.”
The Water Elemental shook her head. “Three humans hardly make a convincing argument.”
“Then give us a chance to prove I’m right. Let me show you that humans are worth saving.”
The Water Elemental stared at him sternly. “Why would you want to fight the inevitable? Humanity is destined to destroy itself. You don’t even know most of the humans you claim to be defending.”
Xander swallowed hard as thoughts of Sammy flooded into his mind. No matter how regal and selfless his actions seemed, he knew the truth was that he was fighting to save Sammy.
“I know the ones that matter,” Xander said.
“It’s more than just friendship. You fight for a love? I can read it on your face.”
Xander nodded slowly. “There’s a woman I love, a Fire Warrior. She’s special, like me, only she’s destined to be a host to the Fire Elemental. I… I know what happens when someone becomes a host. I know that the person dies so that the Elemental can use its body. I can’t let that happen to her. I can’t let her die. Please. Please help us.”
The glow faded from the Water Elemental’s eyes, and it took Xander a moment to realize that she had closed them. Though her aquatic form still stood in front of him, he knew that her mind was somewhere else, connected to the waterways that cut across the planet.
For minutes, the trio stood shivering at the depths of the Atlantic Ocean while the Elemental communed with people and places unknown. The glow finally reappeared in her eyes, and she stared at Xander once more. Her frown softened, and her face grew smooth like a calm sea.
“I’m…” she began, before pausing and shaking her head. “The destruction has already begun. Fire Warriors march on the cities of the world. Their ashes choke the rivers and seas, and the heat from their fires boils the waters.”
“Then you’ll help us?”
“I’m still not convinced that the Fire Elemental isn’t right, but I’m willing to give you a chance to prove your case. I’ll grant you a portion of my power, making you a Water Warrior. Take my power and use it to prove me wrong—prove to me that humanity deserves the chance to continue as the planet’s dominant species.”
“How?” Jessica asked. “How can we prove to you that we’re right?”
“There’s a city on an island to the north of my home that burns. The river that runs through its core is cluttered with ash and the bodies of those already killed by the Fire Caste. Defend the city—cleanse it of the taint of the Fire Caste—and I’ll consider granting you the rest of my power.”
“I’ll do it,” Xander said. “You won’t be disappointed.”
The Water Elemental stepped toward him and raised her hand to his face. Her touch was wet and matted his black hair to the side of his head.
“I’m afraid that in the end, I will be disappointed, regardless of the outcome. We all will.”
She leaned forward, her face dangerously close to his. Though everything in Xander’s head told him to turn and run, he stood stoically as she leaned in even closer and brushed her lips against his. Her liquid form splashed against his mouth, and its icy cold fluid rushed down his throat. The water flooded his esophagus and settled in both his gut and his lungs.
The oxygen bubbled through the water in his lungs, and Xander strained for breath. Though he had grown up learning how to swim, he always harbored a fear of drowning. The idea of being trapped under the surface of the water—clawing for freedom that was always just out of reach—while the water crushed you both from within and without scared him terribly. Despite standing on dry land, the sense of drowning was overwhelming.
He tried to cough and force the water from his lungs, but the Water Elemental grasped the sides of his face and drove more water into his mouth and nose. He felt the pressure in his sinuses as the water filled his nose and popped his ears. Xander’s diaphragm constricted and water sloshed from the corners of his mouth, only to be replaced by more of the glowing fluid immediately afterward.
Sean and Jessica rushed to his side. Jessica grabbed him and tried to pull him away, but the Elemental’s grip was superhuman, as though her fingers were fused with the very moisture within his skin.
Sean picked up a rock and swung it through the Elemental. Her watery body parted around the attack and reformed as his hand passed harmlessly through her. She didn’t bother to even turn her head and acknowledge Sean as a threat.
Xander couldn’t breathe and felt the helplessness creeping into his mind. It felt like hands grasping tightly to his feet, dragging him slowly beneath the surface of an endless sea. He sank deeper and deeper, and the world around him grew darker as the light from the surface retreated.
As unconsciousness threatened, his concentration gave way. The wind power that was holding the ocean at bay wavered, and water rushed into the ruined city. It pooled around the flagging foundations and encircled the weathered fallen stones of the perimeter wall. The water level continued to rise until the ocean poured through the holes in the wall and flooded into the city center.
From their perch on the side of the hill, Sean and Jessica saw the water level rising. It quickly covered the floor of the central park and began creeping up the side of the hilltop.
“Let go of him,” Sean said as he swung the stone harmlessly through the Elemental once again.
“Xander!” Jessica yelled as the water level reached the bottom of her boots. She felt the aching cold seep through the thick material, and her feet instantly went numb.
Xander could hear their yells but they came from miles away, like whispers trapped in bubbles washing over him in the sea. He wanted to help but his care and concern seemed to recede along with his consciousness, as his sense of self was slowly carried away with the rising waters.
“Listen to me, Xander,” the Water Elemental’s voice whispered in his mind. He could still feel her moist lips pressed against his as she spoke.
As the pair embraced, the water level continued to rise. It rushed over Xander’s feet, quickly rising above his knees and then above his waist. Throughout it all, he remained unmoving, as though completely unaware that the ocean was consuming him.
Sean and Jessica retreated to the top of the hill and stood on the flagstones marking the edge of the glowing pool. The water caught up to them quickly, washing past their legs as it filled the pool behind them to capacity. The two shivered uncontrollably as the water level rose.
They looked down the hill to where Xander and the Elemental stood. They saw them both disappear completely underwater.
“Xander!” they both yelled as his dark hair swirled on the surface before being sucked under the churning waves.
They didn’t have any time to mourn before the water rushed over them as well. They tried to tread water, but it was difficult in their thick winter jackets. As the ocean soaked through the inner lining of the coats, they could feel the increased weight dragging them down.
Sean managed to find a delicate perch, balancing on one foot and tilting his head up to keep it above water. The cold was already constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe. Beside him, he could see Jessica flailing as the water level quickly went over her head. She sputtered once before disappearing beneath the bubbling water.
Sean reached out and clutched her hand, pulling her in close. She fought him for a moment in her panic before he was able to force her head above the water. She coughed, sending a mouthful of water spilling onto the rising ocean before taking a deep breath and groaning loudly.
“I’m…” Sean said as water sloshed into his mouth. He spat it out and tilted his head backward again, straining once more for the surface. “I’m sorry, Jessica.”
Tears streaked Jessica’s face, intermixing with the salty water that dripped from her hair. Only Sean’s lips and nose were still above water, but he knew even they would soon be submerged. Jessica leaned forward quickly and pressed her cold lips tightly against his, holding that position even as the ocean washe
d over them both.
“You are one of my children now, connected as much to the water of the planet as you are to me,” the Water Elemental told Xander from their watery prison. “Show me the best of humanity, and I’ll grant you my power in full. Fail me, and you’ll join me in this forgotten city as I slumber again.”
Xander’s body felt like water as the Elemental withdrew from their embrace. He could feel the fish of the ocean passing through him. Locked in her embrace, his consciousness poured into the oceans and seas, stretching across hundreds of miles. He could sense the Elemental’s guiding hand as she showed him the Thames River far to the north, choked with gray ash.
As Xander flowed with the currents, he was suddenly acutely aware of his own body submerged strangely both far away and close by, simultaneously. More importantly, he could also sense a pair of humans much closer to his physical form. Their heartbeats slowed in the frigid waters, pulsing slower and slower as they sank lower beneath the rising ocean surface.
Panicked, Xander’s consciousness rushed back into his body, and he opened his eyes. Despite being under the frigid waters of the rising ocean, he didn’t feel panicked, and his lungs no longer screamed for air. Like the wind when they were flying, the water seemed to sustain him as his sunk deeper beneath its surface.
Through the dark, murky water, he could see his friends limp forms battered about in the undersea currents. Xander immediately felt the power of the water surge through him. His normally dark eyes turned completely blue as he felt ethereal fingers clutching the top of the rising water and pulling it back down. To his amazement, the ocean responded. The water retreated, dropping until the tattered rooftops reemerged from beneath its churning waves. The water pooled around them, reforming the whirlpool walls that had existed minutes earlier. Unlike before, the whirlpool was held back not by the wind but by the power of the water itself.
Water Shaper (World Aflame) Page 5
