Circle of Elements: Water and Wind Collide

by Mandy Adler

  “Be careful out there sleeping. You never know what’s out in the dark.” Dylan said softly.

  I looked up at him sharply, wondering what he meant. But he was looking at Christian with a wide-eyed expression. When I looked to Christian he just barely shook his head back at Dylan. I wonder what that was about. Was there something they weren’t telling me? Or did Dylan figure out that we were a chosen pair?

  “Yes. We certainly don’t want anything happening to the newest Casters.” Cora’s snipped rudely.

  “Cora. I have had enough. Either you stop trying to bully Asher and Ella, or I am going to ban your magic for a week.” Christian’s tone was final. He was expecting her not to argue.

  Can he do that? Magically ground her? Just how much power did he actually have?

  “You can’t be serious Christian. I have been here for years. And you’re going to choose a baby caster over me?” Cora shrilled, throwing her hands in the air.

  “I will not warn you again.” The room chilled and I knew it wasn’t me. I had forgotten he said each chosen would get the other’s powers.

  Suddenly it felt as if a bubble popped in my head.

  We are going to have to tell them, love. I can’t get a handle on your powers yet. And Dylan already suspects. We are not going to be able to hide it. I wanted to wait until you were ready, but I just don’t think that’s going to happen.

  How the heck are you speaking in my head?! Okay, I take it back about the other stuff. Now, this was just too crazy.

  We can mind-speak. I will explain it all later. It is alright with you if I… As they say, spill the beans?

  Yeah, okay. Not like we were going to be able to hide it long anyway. Just if Ash overreacts… don’t hurt him.

  I wouldn’t hurt your brother, love. Cora on the other hand… is riding my last nerve.

  I was still blushing about him calling me love when he spoke to the room.

  “Ella and I discovered something last night.” It was strange to hear his voice in my head and then aloud. I watched my brother carefully while he spoke. “We found out we are a chosen pair.”

  I was slammed against the wall before I could register how Asher felt. My head slammed hard and my vision was dimming. I could hear everyone yelling. The room was heating up and frosting at the same time, wind was running wild. I could hear things crashing to the floor.

  The last thing I heard was Christian’s voice booming, “You are banned! Now get out of my house before I do something a lot worse!” Before losing my fight to stay awake.

  Christian

  I was seeing red, now I knew what Asher must feel when the anger takes him over. When I saw Ella hit that wall all rational thoughts left my head, the fear of losing her choked the breath right out of my body. I hadn’t planned on letting everyone know about us like this, but it was impossible to hide.

  I had Cora pinned to the opposite wall before I had thought to do it. “Asher, get Ella upstairs now! Make sure she’s okay!”

  “Have you lost your mind, Cora?!” Dylan shouted. “Attacking a circle member is a crime punishable by death!”

  “Death is too easy for her!” I growled. I let my wind die down and she fell to the ground. I knelt in front of her and kept my voice low, barely controlling my rage. “You are banned from this circle. Banned from this territory. I will send you back to the elders with word that you are to be banned from the Caster world. You will spend the rest of your life alone and always watching your own back, never to be accepted by our kind. If you come near my Chosen or anyone in this circle again you forfeit your life. Do you understand me?”

  “You can’t do that!” Her voice only makes me angrier.

  “Watch me. You acted like a jealous child, endangering my mate. I am letting you off easy because you were a part of this circle for so long, but make no mistake, if I so much as see you in passing again I will end you.”

  “Let it be,” Dylan said, letting her know he will follow my orders and execute her on sight next time.

  “Leave now. And do not let anyone of us catch you, run far and run fast Cora dear. Your new life as a rogue begins today.”

  I stand and watch as she practically falls out the door and takes my words to heart… she runs.

  “Jesus, I can’t believe she did that.” Dylan breaths. “Go check on your mate, make sure she’s okay. I will clean up here, brother.”

  Ella

  Asher was softly calling my name. I could hear him, though I was still in that place between sleep and not-sleep. He sounded scared and a little sad. I tried doubling my efforts to wake up faster.

  “Ella. Come on little sister. Wake up and let me know you’re okay. Gods, please be okay.” I hated the way his voice cracked towards the end. I had scared him, and Asher was never frightened.

  “I’m okay.” My voice was scratchy, so he handed me a glass of water. My hands shook but I took a few sips before I tried to speak again. “What happened?”

  Asher sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture I was used to seeing. “Cora used her power to slam you into the wall across the room. Christian got so angry he banned her from the circle.” He smiled a little. “The man has power, I’ll give him that. He had her pinned against the wall before I could register what just happened, or even blink. He looked like a madman.” He let out a long sigh. “So, you found your mate? Whatever that means.”

  “It’s weird, isn’t it? I mean all this is happening so fast.” I let out a strangled laugh that didn’t sound like it belonged to me. I grabbed his hand and he gripped me back tightly. “Are you mad?”

  “No. I mean, yeah. It’s kind of weird, but if anyone deserves to find a soulmate it’s you. Christian seems like a good guy so far. Just don’t jump in too quickly, please. It’s going to be strange though, it’s always been you and me.” He sounded sincere.

  “It’s still you and me, Ash. Now it’s just you, me, Christian, and Dylan.” I laughed. That one sounded better. “He’s nice though. And apparently, we can mind-speak. I felt him using my cold earlier, and we have the marks. And it feels… right. You know? As weird as this all is, it feels like fate.”

  “Well, I’m happy for you, sis. But if he ever hurts you I will kill him, just saying. And I’m glad Cora’s leaving. She was something else.” He stood and walked to the door. “I’m going to let your mate know you’re awake. He’s been a little crazy since you’ve been out.”

  I nod and he leaves, shutting the door behind him. Not even a minute later the door opens back up and Christian walks in.

  “Thank god you’re alright.” He breathes. “I’m so sorry. I had never dreamed Cora would do something like that. She’s always been rash, but to harm an innocent…” He shook his head harshly.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine.” I whisper gently. That he cared so much…

  “No. It’s not okay, not even a little. I banned Cora and sent her to the Elders. Using our powers to try and harm one of our own is highly against the law. I could have killed her for hurting you, it was well within my rights.” He let out a harsh breath. “She will likely have her powers stripped. I hate that she got so close to hurting you, that I didn’t see it sooner.” He ran his finger down my cheek, making me get chills down my arms. “You and Asher start training right after school ends. I won’t have either of you vulnerable.” He looked at me and smiled. “You have been out for over a day. Asher and I talked awhile and found some things out.” He shook his head and gave me a rueful look. “The luck you guys have. The Coopers are casters. They aren’t active anymore. After they lost their son, they retired. But I went and talked to them this morning. They said they were coming to inform me that they thought the foster kids they took in were casters.” He laughed. “Made my job easier. So, you and Asher are going to stay here after next week. So that we can make training easier. If that’s okay with you.”

  My head was spinning. The Coopers were casters? How had I not seen anything? I knew right away with Christian. Was it beca
use they stopped using their powers? I realized Christian was waiting for a reply while I was stewing in my own head.

  “Can you hear my thoughts?” Oh god, that would suck. There was no way he would want to know what was in my crazy head. “And yeah. I mean, yes I don’t mind staying here after school ends next week, if Asher agrees.”

  “Good.” He let out a sigh of relief. “And no, I can’t hear your thoughts. You have to send them to me.” He smiled. “Are you hungry? It’s Sunday night and you haven’t eaten since Friday’s pizza.” The noise my stomach let out was answer enough. He laughed. “Come on, let’s go grab some grub then.”

  I squealed when he lifted me up and set me on the floor, holding onto me until I was steady. “Thank you.”

  His eyes crinkled a little at the corners when he smiled in reply. “Anytime Ella. Anytime.”

  Chapter Six

  That night Asher and I returned to the Coopers. They were waiting in the living room when we arrived. They sat side by side on the couch. We had a long talk with them and learned they no longer used their powers. Their son was killed a few years ago by a rogue werewolf in the area, and they wanted to start aging and move on with their lives. They were kind. After all, this time moving around… we finally found people that were nice. Not for any reason other than that was who they were. Apparently, we couldn’t feel that they were casters because they quiet practicing, but they could vaguely feel that we were.

  The last week of school week flew by fast. Between the training and school finals, I was exhausted. Today, we moved into the house. I learned that Dylan had also moved in for a while to keep our circle strong since we were short a member. Christian and I were slowly getting ahold of our combined powers, and getting to know each other better. And I like what I who I was beginning to know. He was kind, and sweet, and so very caring. And extremely patient with my slow process of letting him it.

  Tonight, was the final dance and I was nervous as I think I had ever been before. Asher, Dylan, Christian, and I were all going together. Why they made a dance the day after the last day of school was beyond me. But I guess they wanted everyone to have a chance to say their goodbye before everyone left for vacations or such.

  I had dressed in a light pink dress that fell to just above my knees. I swept my hair up but the front part fell forward, framing my face. I slipped on my white sandals, I couldn’t do heels, never could. I looked in the mirror and sighed, well, that was as good as I was going to get.

  They guys were waiting at the bottoms of the stairs as I walked down. They all looked nice all dressed up. But it was Christian that took my breath away. He had pulled his hair back and tied it at the nape of his neck, making his eyes seem somehow brighter.

  “You clean up nicely Ms. Ella.” Dylan smiled.

  “You look beautiful,” Christian breathed as I reached his side.

  “Yeah, she looks great.” Asher snorted. “We ready?”

  “You boys all look really nice too.” I laughed. “Yes, Ash. We’re ready, let’s go.”

  The dance was pretty. I’ll never know how they managed to dress the gym up so nicely, it doesn’t even look like the same place. There were balloons everywhere, and streamers along the ceiling. The lights were low and there was a live band playing.

  Asher and Dylan headed towards a gaggle of girls while I rolled my eyes. I don’t even know how Dylan got in, he didn’t even go here.

  “Dance with me?” Christian whispered in my ear.

  I nodded while he led me to the floor. I was so nervous. I wasn’t sure where to put my hands or my feet, or where to look.

  Suddenly, he placed a finger under my chin and pulled my gaze to his. “Don’t over think this. It’s just me, you can’t do any wrong where I’m concerned.” I gave him a shy smile and nodded.

  Dancing with him was effortless, he did all the work and I just followed his lead. After the third or fourth dance, I laid my head on his chest and heard him sigh. I think I felt a gentle brush of his lips on my head, but I couldn’t be sure. Things were so easy with him, I still couldn’t help but think it was all just so fast though. I decided to just let go of everything and just enjoy tonight, this moment with him.

  “Excuse me.” A voice said from behind me. We turned to see a blonde girl a few inches taller than me. She gave me a sneer and smiled up at Christian. “You want to dance?”

  I felt my back stiffen. But, I should have known he wouldn’t desert me. “I am dancing. I’m dancing with my beautiful girlfriend.”

  I blushed at him calling me his girlfriend. Was that what I was? The girl huffed and stomped off back to her group of friends. I saw Kira among them and she gave me a wink and a smile. I waved back.

  “Sorry about that. I know you wanted to take this slow, but I couldn’t think of another way to get her to back off.” Christian said softly.

  “I didn’t mind,” I whispered to his chest. “I kind of like that you kind of admitted you were mine.” I felt weird saying this, it wasn’t like me to be so bold, I felt my cheeks warm.

  “It’s true, Sweetheart. I am yours, will always be yours. And your mine. I don’t mind taking things slow, I know you need that. But it doesn’t mean you’re not mine anyways. I just want that to be clear.” I have to say I kind of like when his alpha-ness comes out.

  We danced the rest of the dance together while the boys flirted the night away. It was probably one of the best nights of my life. But like with all good things, the night came to an end. He dropped me off at my room with a kiss on my forehead that melted me with the sweetness.

  Asher came in not long after to talk about how much our lives were changing, and we agreed… it was definitely for the better. We finally found a home… a family. We fell asleep side by side, like old times, just talking through the night.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Why don’t you go get some sleep, love? You look beat. I look up from the game board we were all playing, to see Christian smiling softly.

  I will. As soon as a beat Asher in this game. He laughed at my reply and the boys looked between us.

  “None of that mind stuff! That’s cheating!” Asher declared loudly.

  “I don’t see how we can cheat in a game of Sorry, Ash.” I rolled my eyes. “Besides you are only saying that because you are losing, just like always.” I laughed when he stuck his tongue out at me.

  “Well, I for one am off to bed.” Dylan stood and smiled at us. “We have live training tonight. Got word of some rogue weres in the woods. We are going to throw you two to the wolves.” He threw a wink my way to know he would never just throw us out there.

  That was another thing. Seeing as how the monsters tend to come out at night, we had to switch our schedules for the summer. Start sleeping during the day. I was having issues with that. I had a hard time sleeping a night at is was, to switch hours was a challenge.

  I sighed. “I better try and sleep too then. I wouldn’t want to drown us all while trying to help tonight.”

  You will do just fine, my Ella.

  “Me too, I guess. Since Ell is admitting defeat, I win. Night all.” Asher headed up to his room while I started cleaning up the game. The turd butt, I was going to win and he knew it.

  “Go get some sleep.” Christian stilled my hand as I was picking up the pieces. “I’ll clean this up. I need you alert tonight. This will be the test that determines if you and Asher are good to patrol. And I can’t have you hurt out there.” His voice went soft towards the end and I nodded slowly.

  “Okay. Thank you. I will see you tonight.” I don’t know what came over me, but I got on my toes and gently kissed his cheek. He smiled before nodding for me to head to bed.

  I changed into my sleep clothes and got into bed. Christian and I got along really well. We trained well together too. I smiled to myself as I thought – we were a good match.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Gods, but was I scared. It is a lot creepier at night in the woods then it was in the light. As
her had a flame in his hand as he lit our way. Dylan said he was informed that there were three or four werewolves shacked up in the abandoned hunting house we were heading to. Christian stayed close to my side, seemingly confident. Asher and Dylan didn’t seem nervous either, but I was shaking in my boots. I mean, werewolves! I’ve never even seen one before and now I was going to fight one! Or assist in fighting one anyways.

  “Stay calm Ella, you’ll do just fine.” I nodded to Christian to let him know I heard him.

  Suddenly, I heard it; a low, deep, chill-sending growl. My hair seemed to stand on end. Asher lit his hands up and stood ready. I saw Dylan kneel low to the ground with his hands in the earth. Christian came and stood beside me, alert and ready. When the first one broke through the trees my breath caught in my throat.

  It was massive! It stood taller than any of the guys. Covered in fur and looking as if it came straight out of a horror movie. It let out a roar that shook the trees. Asher hurled a fireball at it just as a second one came leaping in. It flew back and slammed into a tree with a sickening crunch as a gust of wind lifted my hair from my shoulders. As a third one emerged, Dylan split the land and it seemed to swallow it whole. The one Asher was still battling snarled as drool spat from its gaping jaws. It stood on two legs, making it seem impossibly larger. I screamed as it charged at Asher, its claws digging into the earth. I shot a bolt of ice after it, one after another as my brother threw his fire as fast as he could. I could hear Christian behind me battling the other one, but my focus was on the monster in front of me. Suddenly, the earth gave way and the one Dylan had disposed of leaped, landing on my brother. My hair blew around me as I thrust everything I had into sending this creature far away from my twin. He flew up several feet in the air until the twister of ice I seemed to have created caught flames, the other one got sucked into this vortex of ice and fire along with it. The two were caught in the sight that my brother and I created. Dylan threw everything he had into the twister, fueling the fire. My head pounded, nails on my skull. I felt something wet drip from my nose, but I couldn’t stop, I had to destroy these monsters trying to hurt the family I had finally found. I could hear yelling somewhere in the distance.