“Is that all the elements?” I asked.
“At some point, another element slipped in, void.” His voice got lower, “We don’t know much about void. Some people think it is an evil element, but others say that void must be the balance of all things, and it can be used for both good and bad depending on the user. From what I understand, there has only been a handful of void elementals since the shadow king tried to take the elements away.”
“What do you think of void? Do you think it’s bad?”
“No. I believe every element has the potential to do bad things. They can all be destructive if the person with that power is bad. But if they are a good person trying to do the right things, I think the elements will be used in good ways. You can study it more once you start school here and see what you think.”
“How do you test me on fire?” I asked, trying to get through the day, so I could go back to the cottage and puzzle out all the new information I had on my own.
“It is the same process as before. Close your eyes and listen to the fire. You can hear the crackling of the logs and feel the heat of the flames. Make the fire grow warmer as if you were out on a cold, windy day and came inside to warm up. See the fire grow bigger in your mind.”
I listened to Dr. Griffith talk and began to feel the warmth on my face. I could hear the fire growing larger, the snaps and pops of water escaping the logs increased in intensity. I turned the fire up in my head and felt a wave of heat push at me. I could almost see the flames dancing on my skin.
“Sally!” Dr. Griffith yelled from far away. “It’s time to turn the fire down now,” he yelled.
I opened my eyes to see why he had walked away from me and saw I was covered in flames. The whole room seemed to be covered in flames. I started to panic.
“Relax, Sally. Turn the fire down in your mind now. You can do it,” Dr. Griffith said, trying to calm me. I looked around and realized the fire didn’t hurt me. I held up my arm and watched as a flame crawled across it and onto my chest. I only felt the slightest heat from the fire and an intense tingling sensation. “Sally! Turn the fire down,” Dr. Griffith yelled again.
I tried to focus on the flames but realized I didn’t know what I was doing. The fear came back. I wondered if I would burn the whole building down. The tingling grew even stronger, and my entire body felt like it was vibrating. I couldn’t stop shaking, and I started to feel dizzy. It started off slowly as I tried to relax to put out the fire, but I couldn’t seem to stop it. The dizziness grew. With a cry, I fell forward into the flames.
Chapter Three
“Sally, wake up.” I took a deep breath. It was all a dream. Thank goodness. I could get back to my life. I tried to open my eyes. I wanted to go see my mom and dad. Just seeing my house would be awesome. “Sally, come on, deep breaths. Wake up now, dear.”
That wasn’t my mom’s voice. Someone was in my room. I tried to open my eyes again, but they didn’t want to work. I struggled to see, and when I finally brought the room into focus, my world came crashing down. I was in Dr. Griffith’s office, and Nana was standing over me.
“I thought it was all a dream,” I cried. Nana put her arms around me and held me while all my fear and anger came pouring out of me. “I want it all to go back to the way it was.”
“I know, dear, I know,” was all Nana said, but it made me feel better to be held while I cried.
“What happened, Nana? Why am I in this office?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I was trying to see if I could control fire and,” I gasped, “the fire was all over me, but it didn’t burn. The whole room was in flames. Oh no. What did I do? Is anyone hurt?”
“Everything is fine. No one was hurt, except you. You used so much energy creating your fire that your body had to shut down. You’ve been sleeping for almost two hours.”
“Two hours?” I questioned. “Why? What do you mean I used too much energy?”
“When you use your element, it takes energy. Usually, that energy comes from you. If you use too much energy without knowing your limits, you could even die.”
I didn’t understand what she was saying. How was I supposed to know how much energy I had?
“We will talk about it later when the doctor is here. Let’s try and get you up and see how you’re doing.” Nana helped me stand up and try to move around. I felt like any minute I was going to fall. I tried to remember exactly what happened, but could only remember the flames.
“Wait, Nana, what happened to the room? Did I burn anything down?”
“Everything’s fine. Dr. Griffith is taking care of everything right now. How are you doing?”
“I think I’m all right.” I continued walking slowly around the room. It felt like I was getting my strength back. “Can we go see Dr. Griffith please?” I needed to know how much damage I caused.
“Yes,” said Nana. “As long as you are up for it.”
I definitely wanted to see what was going on, no matter how tired I was. We started down the hall. When we got to the room where I started the fire, I was surprised to see that the room didn’t look as bad as I feared. There were four burn marks along the fireplace wall, and the rug that was in here before was missing.
I didn’t see Dr. Griffith, but I could hear him. He was talking to someone on the other side of the wall, and I struggled to hear what they were saying. All I heard was my name and something about fire, so I assumed he was talking to someone about what I had done.
Nana raised her voice, “Dr. Griffith, Sally is here. She would like to speak with you.” I heard more whispered words. Dr. Griffith appeared through a door hidden behind a bookcase.
My eyes lit up. “Is that a secret entrance?” I asked Dr. Griffith.
He smiled at me, “It used to be, but it’s not very secret to the people that work here. There used to be tunnels underground that went all over this town, but many have caved in.”
“That’s awesome,” I said. “Can I explore them?”
“I would prefer you didn’t,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to go missing if you get lost down there.”
I sighed and looked up at the scorch marks. “I’m sorry, Dr. Griffith. I don’t know what happened.”
“Don’t worry, Sally. This is what we test for, and as you can see, no one got hurt.”
“How is this possible? All I did was think about the fire.”
“This is the power of an elemental. Don’t worry. With some practice, you won’t set anything on fire. How are you feeling? You used a lot of energy.”
“I’m tired,” I told Dr. Griffith. “Will it always be like this? I feel like I could sleep for days.”
“No. You need to get used to it and find out your boundaries. I have already called your mom and talked to her about you. She remembers someone in her family, an aunt I think she said, that used to talk about using fire. She thought it was a fairytale and didn’t believe any of it. After our talk, I think she is starting to understand that you need to stay here to be safe. She’s in the other room right now waiting for you. Why don’t we go out and see her?”
“Mom is here?” I almost yelled. I couldn’t wait to see her. I hoped she wouldn’t be upset with me. “Did you tell her what I did? Was she upset?”
“She’s not upset, Sally. A little confused and definitely worried about you, but she’s not upset at all.” We headed down toward the waiting room.
“What about my dad?” I asked Dr. Griffith. “Has he gotten here yet? Is he ok?”
“He has not arrived yet, but I’m sure he’s fine. Our people are looking out for him.”
I started to worry. He should have been here a couple of hours ago. “Do you know if Mom has talked to him?”
“She hasn’t heard from him yet,” Dr. Griffith said.
We walked into the waiting room, and I saw my mom sitting with her head in her hands. My heart started to beat faster. I was so worried she would be upset. She looked up as the door opened, and as soo
n as she saw me, she ran over to wrap me in her arms. I held her tightly and felt like a little girl again.
“I’m sorry, mom. I don’t know what’s going on. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“How could I be mad at you? None of this is your fault. Dr. Griffith assures me that everything will be fine, and you’ll be safe here.”
“What about you and dad? What if they come after you? Where will you be? I don’t want to be without you,” I started to cry.
“I know, Sally,” my mom sounded upset too. “Until we figure out exactly what’s going on, I think it would be best for you to stay here. And don’t worry, we will stay close too. Dr. Griffith said we can use the cottage for a while. Dad can work from there. You are our first priority. Once we know you’re safe, we can figure out everything else.”
“When will dad be here? I thought he would’ve been here hours ago.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon. He probably had some work stuff to finish up before he left.”
Dr. Griffith walked over, “Mrs. Abeneb, why don’t you and Sally go back to the cottage and spend the evening relaxing? We can meet again in the morning to go over everything that needs to be done. We can decide on a course of action at that point. For now, I think Sally needs to rest. She used a lot of energy today.”
He was right. All I wanted to do was go back to the cottage and lay down.
Mom started to say something but looked at me and thought better of it. “I think you are right, Dr. Griffith. Sally does look like she needs some rest.” I followed her out into the parking lot.
“Are you all right, mom? Dr. Griffith said you had an aunt that talked about being a fire elemental. Do you remember much about her?”
“She was very eccentric, and she was a lot older than my mom, maybe ten or twelve years older. When I was little, I went to her house a few times, and she always had the most fanciful stories. I never believed any of the stories she told me. I thought it was all made up. Now I’m not so sure.”
“Is she still around? Maybe we can ask her some questions.”
“I’m sorry, she’s not. She passed away a long time ago.”
“Do you know if dad had anyone on his side like this?”
“He’s never said anything.”
“When will he get here?” I asked quietly. “I’m worried. He should have been here by now.”
“I know,” she said, “but I’m trying to be positive. There must be a reason why he’s running late. Let’s not worry about it until tomorrow. He will probably get here in the middle of the night and wake us up,” she tried to laugh.
I could see how worried she really was and decided to let the subject go. I looked at my mom closely. She would still be here for me, even if I had to go to the school, and she still loved me. I took a deep breath, “So when do I start at the school,” I asked. I wanted to scream and shout and have a fit that I wasn’t going back to my old school, but I knew it would be pointless. I decided I would take whatever comes and do my best at it.
Dad still hadn’t shown up by the time we got up in the morning. I could see the worry on my mom’s face. We returned to the doctor’s office, and the receptionist had us wait as she went to go find him. When he came out, he looked exhausted.
“Mrs. Abeneb and Sally, please come with me. I have someone you want to see.” He walked quickly down the hall, and I almost had to jog to keep up with him. He turned into a room. Immediately I could see this was a real hospital room, and someone was in the bed.
I looked at the person in the bed, confused and not understanding, but then my mom let out a sob and ran forward. I realized it was my dad, and I forced my legs to move. He was sleeping. I could see bandages all over his arm and shoulder, even his face was bruised. Anger replaced worry, and I turned to yell at Dr. Griffith.
“You said he would be fine. You said you had people that were looking out for him. What happened?” I accused him.
“I know, Sally. It was my mistake. I only sent two people to go look after your father. The Pulhu sent five people after you. Normally they would only send one or two. They must know something we don’t about you. They caught up to your father as he was trying to pack bags for you and your mom. My people stepped in to help, and they were able to get away, but not without everyone getting hurt. Your father will recover. We need to be careful until we figure out why they sent so many after you. I need you to go to the school today. It is the safest place we know.” Dr. Griffith looked worried, and that made me even more scared.
My mom looked up, “How bad is he hurt, doctor?”
“A few cracked ribs and some bruising. He is strong. I expect him to wake up sometime this afternoon. You must stay here until then. I think you should go to our strongest haven. I don’t know if this town is protected enough for you to stay here. We have never seen them send so many people after one person before. It is very concerning, and I fear what they will do to get to you. You must stay safe, or they will be able to control Sally. I’m sure Sally would do anything for you.”
“What is a safe haven?” mom asked.
“It’s an area that is protected with our strongest spells so the Pulhu can’t attack us. We have many around the world. Many elementals live in a safe haven and travel into the nearest city for work, though some work directly at the haven.”
“Where is the haven that you want them to go to?” I asked.
He looked at me slowly, “Our safest haven is in Ireland. Your parents will need to go there.”
No! I heard the scream in my head, but I didn’t say anything out loud. They would be so far away. I wouldn’t get to see them for a while. How was I supposed to do it? I had never been away from my mom and dad for more than a night or two. I could see the same desperate look on my mom’s face, but there was also determination. She walked over to me and held my face in her hands.
“Sally, it will be ok. We can talk every day on the phone, and we can get on the computer to see each other. I want you to be safe no matter what.” We both had tears in our eyes.
“I don’t like this, Mom, but I want you and dad to be safe. Do you promise he’ll be all right, Dr. Griffith?” I asked.
“Yes, he will be fine. You can even come and see him before they leave.”
“They’re leaving already?” I was surprised, but I realized I shouldn’t be. The sooner they left, the safer they would be.
“How will they get there?”
“There is a small airport close to here. Our people will stay with them and get them on the plane. People from the safe haven in Ireland will meet them when they land and take care of them. Someone will accompany your mom back to the cottage, and she can get everything you need and bring it back here,” Dr. Griffith said. “Does that work for you?” he asked my mom.
“Yes,” she tried to smile. “Thank you for everything you’re doing. If the people you sent hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“It’s not a problem, Mrs. Abeneb. This is what we do. We don’t want to see anyone getting hurt,” he told my mom.
“Sally, I will have someone drive you to the school and have Abby show you around,” he said to me.
I turned to face my mom and gave her a big hug. “I love you, mom,” I said. “Tell dad I love him too. I will see you soon.”
“I love you too, Sally. Please listen to everything that the doctor tells you. I’ll see you this evening, and you can tell me what the school looks like,” she smiled at me. “Now, go with the doctor.” I turned and followed Dr. Griffith out of the room. He led me to the back of the building where a car was waiting.
“Sally, this is Natasha. She will drive you to the school. It is only a five-minute drive.”
Natasha looked at me but didn’t smile.
“Come,” she said. I followed her to the car and got in. She took off immediately, and I said a silent goodbye to my parents. Natasha still hadn’t looked at me, and I got the feeling that she didn’t like me a lot, so I tried to be nic
e.
“Thank you for driving me to school.” Natasha’s eyebrows lifted, but that was the only sign that she’d even heard me. I fidgeted in my seat. I didn’t say anything else, and soon we were pulling up to what appeared to be a mansion. The place looked huge, but not at all like a school. When Natasha put the car in park, I opened my door and stepped outside. A lady came walking out of the front door and quickly stepped up to me.
“Sally?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Mrs. Sullivan.” She shook my hand. “Please come inside. Dr. Griffith called ahead to let me know you would be joining us sooner than we expected.” She smiled warmly and led the way inside. I looked back to see Natasha watching us. When she caught me looking at her, she turned around and got back in the car.
I turned back to Mrs. Sullivan when she started speaking, “It’s a pleasure to have you here, Sally. I’m sure you’ll feel right at home in no time. I will have one of the girls show you around while I work on getting a schedule ready for you. Please let me know if you need anything.” Mrs. Sullivan stepped aside, and I got my first look at the inside of the school. I couldn’t help staring at the entryway. It was beautiful. This was nothing like my old school.
Mrs. Sullivan smiled, “That’s everybody’s reaction when they first walk in. This used to be a house for royalty to stay in when they came to visit. Now we use it as our school. Near the back of the estate, there are cottages where elementals who are not students stay when they are nearby. That’s where you stayed last night. That area is off-limits to students, so please don’t go down there.”
“I won’t,” I told Mrs. Sullivan. “How many students are here?” I asked.
“As of right now, we have about one hundred students.”
“Sally!” I turned towards whoever was yelling my name, wondering if I should run. Maybe the bad people found me. As I was about to turn for the door, Mrs. Sullivan moved a step closer to me.
“Johnathon, you know better than to run through the school. What is so important that you have to yell Sally’s name and scare her?”
Lost Tides: Elemental Seekers Series Page 3