Dark Fire

by Bethany Wicker

  Realizing there was no door to get out, I placed my hand on the part of the wall that’d let me in and was relieved when it moved through it. For a second, I was worried I was trapped. Thankfully, there was still nobody around when I almost fell out of the wall. I glanced back at it and it looked like an ordinary wall instead of a door. The tapestry draped back into place and I rushed to my plane. I was eager to get home to get a closer look at the sword, so I made my way out quicker this time.

  The pilot was waiting for me and helped me load all of my belongings. My head spun as I still tried to grasp what had just happened. My belt was buckled around my waist as I held on tightly during takeoff. It was a rough start, but the rest of the flight went smoothly. Soon, I arrived at the human airport.

  Chapter Two: Kyler

  It was morning by the time we landed the plane and the taxi got me home. The house was still the same from when I left it about a month ago. It was now September and leaves littered the small front yard. The front door was still the same ugly green color, even though I begged them on multiple occasions to paint it. The red brick was faded and showed the house’s age. The human neighbors were only about three feet away on each side. It was exactly how my mom liked it and I hated it. I avoided having to stay at this house as much as I could. Now, here I was, about to be stuck here for a whole year while I took something called twelfth grade.

  “I’m so glad you’re home, sweetie.” Mom gave me a kiss on the cheek as we walked up the porch. “You know I hate that you’re always so far away. This will be good for both of us.”

  An unladylike snort slipped its way out. This would only be good for her. How could I benefit from this? I voiced this thought and regretted it when tears pooled in her eyes.

  “You didn’t miss us while you were away at Westville?” Mom sniffed as Dad walked past us, not wanting to be a part of this conversation.

  I groaned. “Of course I did, Mom, but you know me. I don’t really do the whole emotional reunion thing. Besides, I’m mad at you for making me join you among the humans.”

  Following behind her, I went straight to my room and started unpacking. There were banging sounds that kept coming from the direction of the kitchen but I ignored them. Mom was the culprit and I didn’t want to risk being electrocuted from her lightning. She’d actually done that before. It was my fault though. I’d been talking back to her, pushing every button I could, and all of a sudden I got zapped. She didn’t mean to do it, but her lightning had slipped from her control. My fire had gotten her back by scorching her hair. That had been an accident too. Let me just say that wasn’t a good night in the Yates’s household.

  Most of my day was spent in my room, reorganizing everything since my mom decided to move things around. She was restless when I was gone and did this every time. Dinnertime came and Mom cooked spaghetti. The smell beckoned me to the dining room table, where my parents were already waiting.

  We ate in silence for the first ten minutes. I was the one to break it with, “So when am I supposed to start this human school thing?”

  Mom grinned taking my interest as excitement instead of dread. “Since today is Friday, school isn’t until Monday. That means you have two days and then I’ll take you to get enrolled.”

  My head bobbed and I went back to stuffing my face. Mom’s spaghetti was the best and Westville’s food couldn’t compare. That was one thing I’d missed for sure. She made the best everything. I, on the other hand, wasn’t allowed in the kitchen because I seemed to make everything blow up. I definitely inherited Dad’s cooking skills.

  Mom and Dad kept pausing to smile at each other between bites. Were they really that happy I was home? They loved one another, but were never as expressive about it as they were now. Dad even reached across the table and held Mom’s hand for a few minutes.

  “What’s up with you two?” I gave them a sideways look.

  They both looked at me with innocent expressions and wide eyes. Neither one said anything and Dad finished his plate quickly. He stood up to bring the plate into the kitchen, but not before he gave Mom a long stare. When he left, she looked back at me and smiled, but still said nothing.

  “Stop acting so weird and talk to me.”

  They were starting to worry me. Did someone die? But then they wouldn’t be smiling. What the heck was it? Her lips parted and I held my breath in anticipation of what she was going to say.

  “How about you help me with the dishes, dear?” Mom stood and grabbed her dishes, but quickly grunted and held her stomach, stilling herself. Her nose squinched up for a quick second before she relaxed again.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked with my eyes narrowed. A little pooch was visible on her stomach that hadn’t been there before.

  Her eyes widened at the question and I watched as she started twiddling her thumbs nervously. “About that,” she hesitated before yelling at Dad to come down the stairs, where he’d retreated. “Let’s take a seat because your father and I have something to tell you,” she added while pointing towards the couch.

  Dad’s feet thundered down the steps and he rounded the corner as I asked, “Are you pregnant?”

  My sudden outburst had Dad tripping over his feet and he toppled over. Mom and I ignored his spew of curses as I stared her down. Her face was flushed as she stiffly nodded her head.

  “How is that even possible? I thought Elementals could only have one child.”

  Mom plumped down on the couch and beckoned me toward her. I did as she wanted and took the empty space next to her. Dad kept running his fingers through his onyx, messy hair. He obviously didn’t want to be the one to explain.

  Mom took a minute to gather her thoughts before she answered. “First of all, it’s only the Elders that are limited to one child. Other Elementals can have more than one child, but it’s just rare.” She paused to wrap her arm around me, tucking me in closer to her like she used to do when I was little. “Your dad and I believe that we were blessed with two children because we are both Elders, which was an odd match to begin with since we weren’t supposed to be together. Maybe this second child is nature’s way of correcting the loss of an Elder from our mating.”

  A whistle blew through my lips as I processed what was happening. “So, I’m going to be a sister?”

  Dad laughed as the tension finally lifted. “That would be the term for it, yes,” he teased.

  “How far along are you?” The excitement of the new baby replaced my annoyance about the switching of schools. I never could’ve imagined something like this happening. I’d always hoped for a sibling but assumed it was impossible.

  “Just a few months. I’m about to be in the second trimester. We don’t want anyone else knowing yet.” She grinned. The relief was obvious on her face. She’d probably been worrying about my response.

  “Not sure what that trimester thing is. So, why did you guys decide to make me switch schools now? We’d be better off in our old house with Ben and Finn. I miss them.”

  We’d had a pretty awesome house before this one—before Mom decided she had to completely submerge herself within the human society. It was secluded from the human society, but still within a reasonable distance. We should’ve moved there to begin with instead of me moving here, but Mom really wanted me to experience being a human.

  As for Ben and Finn, they were pretty much my adoptive bothers. They were about seventeen years older than me and were twins, which was also a rarity within the Elemental society. Their parents had died during the Avarice War that my mother fought in. They’d switch to her side and had been a part of the family since then. However, Mom decided she wanted to live closer to the humans and we moved about three years ago. They’d lingered there, so I didn’t see them too much anymore.

  “I wanted you to get the full human experience,” Mom stated.

  A few silent minutes passed and Mom raised her eyebrows and looked at Dad thoughtfully. He shrugged his shoulders in response.

  “It wouldn’t be s
uch a bad idea. We had more room in that house and could even use the help from Ben and Finn. We haven’t enrolled her in school yet,” Dad considered.

  “I think I could tolerate going to a human school if I could use my elements at home. In this house, the humans are too close and will see.” I mentally crossed my fingers as I watched Mom process the idea.

  “Your father wouldn’t have to work at the human job to pay for this house either,” Mom continued to reason, jumping on board the moving ship.

  “What is it you do again, Dad?”

  He sighed. “Three years and I still have no idea. I do what they tell me to usually.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun,” I commented.

  He shot me an exaggerated annoyed look. “It’s not. Not even a little bit.” He moved closer to me and added in a whisper, “Your mom doesn’t seem to mind it though. She’s so weird.”

  I started laughing, especially when Mom growled, “I heard that.”

  Dad’s joking expression turned innocent. “So, is that a yes?”

  Mom made us wait in anticipation before she finally nodded her head. “Yeah, I think it’d be better for all of us. We probably shouldn’t have moved in the first place. Whose idea was that again?”

  Neither one of us answered as Dad and I immediately began packing. He ran to get some boxes while I used the ones I came here with. When he returned, we packed up the house in record timing. I never noticed, but Dad didn’t like it here either. He was just supporting Mom with her ambitions.

  Mom had taken it easy while we worked. She contacted Mr. Jay, who was allowing us to borrow the plane from school. Thankfully, it hadn’t left the airport yet.

  When daylight came the next morning, we loaded the plane and were on our way to our real home. That was probably the fastest I’d seen Dad move in a long time. He and I were both worried Mom would change her mind, something she was known for. I knew it meant a lot to her to be submerged completely into the human society, so I was glad she’d changed her mind. Now, moving to the human school wouldn’t be as terrible.

  ~*~

  Ben and Finn were waiting in the yard when we arrived in a blue car—which was still such an odd contraption if you asked me since we didn’t have cars on the elemental island.

  Finn was the first one to greet me and it was with a giant hug. His yellow hair had darkened as the years went by and was now more of a dirty blonde. His green eyes shined brightly like always with a smile that never faltered to go with it.

  Next was Ben, who enveloped me in a tight embrace. His hair was still the same golden yellow color it’d always been. His blue eyes weren’t as bright as Finn’s and his smile wasn’t as strong. He was the ‘brooding twin’ and that’d never change no matter how much time passed.

  Both boys were built the same, though—tall and stocky. They came close to towering over me, but my last growth spurt helped tremendously and their height wasn’t so intimidating.

  But no matter their differences and similarities, they were both equally my brothers and held a special place in my heart. They’d helped me when I was struggling with my elements too. They were both level five with the element of water to command. Together, they were even stronger and could make people do things by controlling the water in their bodies. I’d yet to see it in action though. Apparently, my mother had banned it and they’d listened out of respect.

  “We’re so happy you guys decided to move back here.” Finn’s grin couldn’t get any bigger.

  “It’s been weirdly quiet without you guys,” Ben admitted and scratched the back of his head.

  “Well, it’s been pretty strange without you two in the house to keep us entertained.” Mom pulled both Ben and Finn in for a hug at the same time.

  They both made faces at being squished together with her. Dad and I couldn’t hold in the laugh, which only made Mom shoot us a confused look.

  “Too bad you guys didn’t decide to come here sooner and save Kyler the second move.” Ben gave Mom a pointed look as he pulled out of the hug.

  She sighed. “I really wanted Kyler to feel the complete impact of being within the human world, but this house is a better place for us all.”

  “It’s good to see you two. You missed out on the fun in the human town.” Dad clapped each of them on the back.

  “I’m sure. Were you able to use your element out there?” Ben’s tone was mocking.

  Mom sent him a hard look. “We didn’t need our elements. We enjoyed each other’s company.”

  “Gag,” I said, making a gagging sound.

  “I think I’m with Kyler.” Ben looked like he wanted to make the gagging sound too, but Mom had turned her glare on me quick and finally took it off him. “I think I’d kill you guys if all we had was quality time.”

  Finn chortled, but Mom seemed to be growing angrier.

  “I think blending and living amongst the humans is incredible,” Mom fumed. “We’re finally bridging the gap and moving out of seclusion.”

  “And apparently I’m the guinea pig that gets to go to a human school. Yay me,” I complained.

  “Why don’t you go inside and unpack, Kyler,” Mom snapped.

  “Geez, someone’s pregnancy hormones are getting to her,” I retorted. I didn’t know much about pregnancy since I’d never known anyone who was pregnant, but I’d heard they were moody.

  “What?” Ben and Finn both screeched and stared at Mom with open mouths.

  Mom could’ve killed me with the next look she directed my way. Oops. I’d forgotten it was a secret. It was crazy how right it felt for me to have a sibling on the way.

  “Kyler, why don’t you start unpacking the car,” Mom ordered more than asked this time.

  Not wanting to face any more wrath, I left and started with my belongings. I heard Mom and Dad trying to explain to Ben and Finn that she was pregnant, no matter how strange it sounded.

  Grabbing bag after bag, I realized how annoying it was to be unpacking for the second time within two days, even though I preferred this move over the previous. Being able to use my elements made it all worth the effort. I couldn’t imagine having to go without them. It would be pretty impossible. What was an elemental if they weren’t able to use their element? Nothing but another human with speckles in their eyes.

  After the initial shock and explanations were over, the boys finished getting the rest of our belongings out of the car Dad borrowed from the airport. Exploring the house, I noticed that Ben and Finn had kept it exactly the same, including my room. It still had the same red comforter that I loved and the walls were light brown. My posters of different element murals were still hanging neatly. I’d always been a fan of how beautiful the elements were when their colors intertwined.

  My bookshelf was the first project I tackled and I unpacked my books and other various collectibles. Next, clothes, and so on until everything was out of boxes. Déjà vu hit me hard again.

  My hands stopped when they came across the sword that I’d found in that hidden room. I’d forgotten about it with everything else going on. Unwrapping it, the silver gleamed in the light of my room. The beauty of it mesmerized me. I’d never held a sword before. The cool metal hummed with power as I rose it higher.

  Two is not enough. The power of four you shall wield.

  “What?” I asked aloud. Did that voice just come from the sword?

  Two is not enough. The power of four you shall wield.

  My hands quickly wrapped the sword back up and hid it under the mattress of my bed. That was too weird. It felt like the words came from the sword, but the sword had no mouth. My skin crawled at that. The sword felt off, like something wasn’t right with it.

  A knock on the door caught my attention and interrupted my scattered thoughts. Finn was grinning as he approached me and took a seat next to me on the bed. It was a good thing I’d hidden the sword when I did. They probably wouldn’t approve of me possessing a weapon like that.

  “So, we’re going to have another little
one running around here. That’s pretty wild.” He blew out a whistle.

  My thumbs started twiddling. “It’s weird. I’ve always wanted a sibling but it still feels so surreal that it’s actually happening. How is this possible? From what I’d been taught, it shouldn’t be.”

  “With your mom, I’ve learned that nothing is impossible because nothing has been normal with her. She’s surrounded by abnormalities, but it never seems to faze her. She takes it and keeps on going. I think that’s what we have to do too. We need to be there for her because she’s going to need us, especially when other elementals catch wind of it.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I agreed.

  “C’mon. We’re going get dinner at one of the human diners to celebrate.”

  As unexciting as that sounded, I followed Finn out where everyone was already waiting. Mom was complaining about how hungry she was, stomping her foot like a child.

  We piled back into the car and headed to the Smarties’ Grill, a restaurant that we’d always visited when I was younger. It was Mom’s favorite. When we pulled up, I noticed that nothing had changed. The white paint was still chipping and the glass doors were wide open.

  Mom was the first one in and the server greeted us before she directed us to a table. We piled into the seats and gave her our drink orders. After ordering water, I looked around the place since I already knew what I wanted to eat. Old, worn pictures were hung up here and there. There were even pictures of frequent customers with the owners.

  Upon scanning the room, my eyes stopped on a group of teens who looked about my age. There were three girls and three boys and I wondered if they were on a group date. I’d never taken part in one, but I knew others who had.

  I didn’t pay attention to what they all looked like because my gaze had become glued to the boy that was at the end of the table. My eyes wouldn’t look at anyone else as I took in his appearance.