by S.M. Winter
that I hadn’t actually called for my element. The thought filled me with a sense of pride that I was capable of defending myself. When another wayward fist came my way I was about to stand my ground but someone caught it. A streak of dark hair and features dove into the fray. I stepped back and watched as this person fought with ease. When he turned my breath caught. Something inside me recognized him and I wasn’t sure why. He winked at me then went back to fighting. When it was over he stood alone with Alexandar. They put up their fists as if they were about to fight each other.
“Wait!” I yelled.
Alexandar hesitated, looking toward me. The other man grinned and jabbed upward, catching him on the jaw and sending him into the wall. I gaped at the force. Alexandar wasn’t down for the count though and popped right back up. I quickly made my way over to them and put my arms out.
“Stop!” I turned to the other man. “You heard me, why did you punch him?”
“Because he had his hands on you,” the man grinned, showing off straight white teeth. It accentuated his dark eyes, slicked back hair and tanned skin. His accent was hard to place but I hadn’t been around much, as I was beginning to understand.
“Why does that concern you?” I asked.
“Because you’re my future wife,” the grin widened as my jaw dropped.
“Gypsy scum,” Alexandar spat from behind me. “She wouldn’t marry you in a million years.”
“We’ll see,” he leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “I read it in my cards and they never lie. They also told me who you really are and that I would be joining you soon.”
Alexandar reached around me and pushed him away, taking my hand. The man waved as we retreated.
“See you soon!” He yelled after me, smiling.
A chill wound its way down my spine and I caught a glimpse of dark leather clad figures closing in. The man sensed this also and melted into the crowd. Alexandar made for the closest doorway and closed the door behind us. Inserting his key into the other side, we opened the door again and stepped back into the Sanctuary. We were greeted by the glowering expression of Chauncy’s normally affable face. Something told me we were in trouble.
“What were you thinking?” He asked as soon as the door was closed, shutting out the thumping music. It suddenly seemed too quiet.
“We needed a break,” Alexandar hunched his shoulders.
“Please tell me that wasn’t a rave you were coming from,” Chauncy looked skyward.
“I was testing a theory,” Alexandar responded.
“What was your theory?” Chauncy demanded.
“That the Agents wouldn’t cause a scene in an area with a large populace,” Alexandar shrugged as if it were no big deal.
Chauncy just stared at him.
“You’re telling me,” Chauncy seemed to choke. “That you deemed other lives expendable to test your theory.”
“Well when you put it that way,” Alexandar frowned at him.
“What other way should I put it?” Chauncy demanded. “Maybe you don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation.”
“No?” Alexandar asked. “Who have you lost lately?”
“Look,” Chauncy massaged his temple. “I’m all for a break, but we are basically in a state of high alert right now. What would have happened if you’d been found, if you’d been captured or injured? Or what if your theory had been proven wrong? What if the Void had just swooped in and decimated the city? How could you be so reckless?”
“Well none of those things happened so it doesn’t matter, does it?” Alexandar started to walk past him.
Chauncy touched his shoulder gently and Alexandar shrugged it off, continuing on. Guilt tore at my insides. I’d been so desperate to get out that I hadn’t even given much thought to the consequences of my actions. Alexandar had made it sound like the risks were few and the gain was much higher. In reality, what had we gained versus the actual risk? A make out session and a fist fight that could easily have gone south. What about that prophecy from the mysterious gypsy? In order for him to join us, someone would need to die. I shuddered again as dread settled around me.
“I’m sorry Chauncy,” I walked over and took his hand. “It wasn’t my intention to cause problems. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Doc,” Chauncy smiled down at me. “I want you to have fun, it seems like you’ve had too little in your short life, but we need to stick close to home right now.”
“I understand,” I nodded.
“I know you do,” Chauncy said. “I know he does too. He’s caught in a spiral and you’re helping him forget about his loss. I need your help to guide it in a more constructive way. When things calm down, we may be able to take a break somewhere.”
“Really?” My laugh sounded more than a little hopeless. “We may need to steal time while we can, it could be the only way we get real breaks.”
I walked away, the weight of what the man in the club had said to me heavy on my shoulders. It seemed unlikely that what he said was genuine, but if he spoke the truth then we all needed to be very careful.
The next day Alexandar greeted me at my door like always, but now there was no longer a playful hand-behind-the-back game. He barely even had a smile for me, just a nod and then moved on.
Training proceeded as normal but without the playful undertones of the last month. The serious boy was back and I wasn’t sure what to do with him. I didn’t realize how attached I’d become to the Alexandar that would hold my hand in between bouts or checked on me if I went down hard.
“Get up,” Alexandar danced back and forth while I struggled to breathe on the ground.
Sweat poured down my face and back, my muscles ached. He had never pushed me this hard in training before.
“I’m done,” I waved him off, struggled to stand.
“No, you’re not,” he took a step forward. “Get up.”
“I said I’m done,” I managed to get to my feet and attempted to limp away.
“And I said you’re not,” he pushed me.
I was so tired, I tripped. I was horrified. No one treated me like this, let alone someone I thought I cared for. I was caught between the need to scream and cry. I just laid there trying to decide which. Alexandar poked me with his toe.
“You alive?”
“No,” I mumbled into the mat. “Why are you doing this?”
“I told you yesterday I wasn’t taking it easy on you,” I could hear the petulance in his voice. I wanted so badly to be angry, but what he said was true. I could also tell that he was baiting me. He wanted me to fight him, wanted to be hurt. More than likely he was hurting inside, but I didn’t have to take the brunt of his emotional turmoil.
I looked up at him. He was crouched down, ready for my outburst of rage. Unluckily for him, it wasn’t coming. Something that I’d realized over the last few months, especially after he taught me how to defend myself, was that the rage I’d pushed down my entire life was there because I’d been afraid. The knowledge of that fact was freeing. I took a deep breath and just looked at him. Sweat was pouring down his face. His shirt was soaked and he looked exhausted. How much had he slept during the last month? What had he eaten? I’d been so concerned with myself that I’d lost sight of the people supporting me. It finally felt like it was the time to stand on my own. So I stood.
“I said I’m done,” I took a stance and the air seemed to bend around me. I didn’t hit him, but I connected with my element and it reinforced my will.
“So you are,” he straightened. “Come with me.”
We went skyward, through the hatch and above the Sanctuary. The wind was billowing around us. I bent it so that it continued on its way but gave us a small birth as we moved. Connecting with the air around me made it feel more like a tickling breeze that the hurricane it had seemed to be just seconds ago. As we walked in silence through the cold sunlight of early dawn there was still something preventing Alexandar from touching me and it was becoming disconcerting.
My skin felt cold and clammy on the surface and I wondered why we were here.
“Why can’t the Void come here?” He asked me.
“You said they could find this place,” I turned my face to the sun and enjoyed the light play behind my eyelids.
“Yes,” he said. “They can find it. So why aren’t we attacked here on a normal basis?”
I frowned. That thought had occurred to me but when the attacks never came I had assumed there was a reason.
“Because we are in the stratosphere?” I guessed.
“Yep,” he nodded, still unsmiling.
“But why would that keep them out?” I asked. “And how was I attacked here then?”
“The stratosphere is an area that exists between the void and the Earth’s atmosphere,” he intoned, as if lecturing.
“Yes,” I scoffed. “I don’t need a science lesson, thanks. Why would that keep us away from the Agents?”
“The Agents can exist within and without, but not in between,” he began walking again. “They feed off of chaos. There is nothing but order in the stratosphere. It is in perfect harmony, so the only time they can set foot on the island is when chaos emerges, usually after a new person is Chosen. This floating island is almost always in perfect harmony, balancing between worlds.”
He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair.
“They feed on chaos,” he said. “So when they cause it, they get powerful as well. We never should have tested them last night.”
“It was a sound theory,” I said lamely.
“Yes, and it could have gotten a
