Mark of Four

by Tamara Shoemaker

  She sat back, frustration on her face. However, Professor Grace had seen her work and nodded.

  Kyle lifted his heel and placed it on the wall behind him. He leaned back casually. “Are you playing any sports this year?”

  Alayne nodded. “I signed up for ice-hockey.”

  “Fantastic!” Kyle’s eyes lit up. “I’m captain of one of the teams! We’re supposed to get the rosters at lunchtime; maybe you’ll be on my team.”

  “Maybe.” Alayne tried to work up enthusiasm, but the truth was, she was terrified. She heartily wished she had signed up for two electives instead.

  Professor Grace’s voice interrupted them. “Quiet, please, class. Mr. Houser has a question.”

  Alayne moved her gaze to Daymon’s tall frame. A bubble machine sat in front of him. His bubbles rested calmly in the shape of a smiley face. As Professor Grace called on him, the bubbles began to drift into meaningless shapes again.

  “Professor, could you explain the difference between Throw-Casting and Shadow-Casting?”

  Alayne snapped upright. Daymon knew, he knew, exactly what Shadow-Casting was. He knew the fear that accompanied the term whenever it was mentioned. Sure enough, tension buzzed as every student held their breath, their glances nervously shifting to the windows and door. Stop being such a troublemaker, Daymon.

  His blue eyes caught hers for a fleeting moment. Barely concealed rebellion seethed just under the surface. Oddly enough, the inner struggle seemed to be directed at her. Animosity spilled through his narrowed gaze. Granted, they’d had their tiff in Basic School, but would that really carry over here? He’d saved her life once, but with the way he looked right now, she wondered if he would choose differently if the same situation were to happen again.

  Professor Grace had gone pale. “Mr. Houser, Shadow-Casting is not a course that Clayborne Training Facility has ever, nor will ever, offer. Why do you ask?”

  Daymon shrugged, a half-smile appearing on his face. “I heard Andova was talking about offering it as an extra-curricular, and just wondered why we didn’t.”

  A short, inquisitive red-head next to Jayme blurted out a question without raising his hand. “What is Shadow-Casting?”

  Several voices burst out in unison. “You don’t know?”

  “Did you grow up in a cave?”

  “How could you not have heard of Shadow-Casting?”

  Professor Grace clapped her hands for order. “That’s enough, class.”

  The red-head cast a flushed countenance downward as Professor Grace faced him. “Mr. Hill, please raise your hand to speak in the future. For anyone who may not know, Shadow-Casting is a very, very dangerous shifting of the elements. We will not go fully into it here; but briefly, it is the practice of taking control of the elements within another person’s body and bending those elements to control what that person does. It breaks every moral law and can cause terrible destruction as the elements within the body are compromised. If a Caster is not extremely careful, any one of the four elements will be thrown off-balance, and the Casted person can lose every water element or every fire element in their body, freezing to death, or melting into essentially nothing. Lack of the air element obviously will cause the person to smother, and without the earth element, the person’s bones, skin, and basic molecular make-up will dissolve.” She paused and looked around the room, the weighty silence blanketing them all. “Andova does not offer the class as an extra-curricular or in any other form, Mr. Houser, as the practice is against High Court law. If anyone told you that rumor,” her voice showed that she doubted it, “he or she was spreading a false one.” She took a deep breath.

  “One week ago, CommonEarth watched as a notorious Shadow-Caster, Simeon Malachi, attempted to take control of the government of the most powerful Continent in the world. We all saw the horrendous scene that took place when a Justice fell victim to the Shadow-Caster’s wrath.” She closed her eyes briefly and shuddered. “May we all be protected from such a fate.” She swallowed. “Class dismissed.”

  Chapter 6

  Alayne and Jayme waved goodbye to Marysa after lunch and headed for the chute to their Points of Motion-Stop class. As they took their seats in the back of the classroom, Alayne breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t think Daymon’s going to be in this one with us.”

  Jayme glanced sideways at her. “Yeah, he’s kind of a jerk, isn’t he?” He pulled out his textbook and dropped it onto the table just as Professor Grady Sprynge stepped onto the podium. His tanned, weathered face was nearly hidden beneath his bushy, iron-gray eyebrows.

  “To your feet, class. We’ll be observing the Third-Years today demonstrating some motion-stop exercises.” He strode down the aisle to the exit doors. “Come, come, let’s hurry. Professor Kilbrick awaits us.”

  A general shuffle filled the classroom as students returned their textbooks to their bags. “More free-time,” Jayme grinned as he slid his book off the table. “The Third-Years will get to do all the hard work.”

  Alayne stood again. “We might learn something.”

  Jayme hefted his bag over his shoulder as they followed the others out into the hall. “So I heard Daymon talking to some of the other guys last night in the dormitories about Shadow-Casting.”

  “I doubt he’d try it, though,” Alayne said uncomfortably. She had a hard time balancing the boy who’d saved her in the market square with the rebellious lout in Professor Grace’s Throw-Casting class. She shivered.

  “I hope not. He’s got a lot of influence over several of the guys. I’d hate to see him start something that would land him or anyone else in the Capital’s prison.” He fell quiet as they entered the next classroom, jostling other First-Years to find a seat around the perimeter of the room. The Third-Years turned in their seats to watch them.

  “You’re not telling me something,” Alayne said as Jayme wedged himself against the wall and made room for her next to him.

  Jayme flushed. “He—he’s not always very complimentary of you.”

  Anger swirled through Alayne.

  “He’s got several of the guys in his crew that talk big.” His eyes flashed to Alayne’s face. “I doubt they’d do anything though. They’re all cowards.”

  “What do they say?”

  Jayme shook his head. “It’s just as well not to know. None of it’s nice. Daymon’s actually not the worst of the lot. I can’t figure him out. I don’t know if he’s the type of guy who just likes to make trouble, or if he’s really into breaking the law, you know? Like with the Shadow-Casting interest.”

  Alayne sat, miserable and silent. It rankled that a whole group of boys hated her guts. It shouldn’t bother her, but every girl wanted to be liked.

  “Did he talk much about Shadow-Casting at Basic School?”

  Alayne shrugged. “You know what the subject’s like. Say one word, and everybody heads for the hills. I got enough of that at home. My mom’s paranoid; she’d always warn me to watch out for Shadow-Casters anytime I’d go out.” She flipped her textbook open in front of her. “Anyway, at least you and Daymon are both Air-Masters. If he tries anything funny, you can check him.”

  Jayme snorted. “Yeah, because I’m so good at what I do. Today’s only our first day of classes. You saw my pitiful attempt at making a whirlpool in Elementary Elementals.”

  “Well, yeah, but that wasn’t your element. You made some great fireworks with your bubbles in Throw-Casting. If we do another element tomorrow in Elementary Elementals, you’ll get a kick out of my pitiful attempts.”Another First-Year squeezed in next to Alayne, and she shifted closer to Jayme to make room.

  “Not you. You’d be good at anything you tried.”

  The note in Jayme’s tone made Alayne look up quickly. He was looking carefully at Professor Sprynge, who was organizing the last of his students.

  Professor Kilbrick attempted to call the class to order. “Good afternoon, class.” Her short brown hair was as straight as a board and ended just above her shoulders. Too-large e
yes bugged from her face as she surveyed them all and then glanced at her notes. “Today, we’re welcoming Professor Sprynge’s First-Year Points of Motion-Stop class to ours so we can do some demonstration exercises for them. Shall we give them a round of applause?”

  Perhaps three or four smatters of applause sounded in the room. A loud snort resounded from the back row.

  Professor Kilbrick turned a deep shade of scarlet. “Right. This question is for the First-Years. Can anyone tell me what you think Points of Motion-Stop means?”

  A blonde girl wearing a blue checked button-down shirt in the front row timidly raised her hand.

  “Ah, Miss Amylia Hollister.”

  Amylia took a deep breath. “Motion-stop is the practice of freezing your element mid-bend, so that the element remains suspended until you choose to finish the element bend.”

  “Well said, Miss Hollister.” Professor Sprynge beamed at her from where he stood near the front corner. He glanced around the class with a delighted smile. “To prevent confusion, freezing your element using motion-stop technique is not the same as notching the element bend. Notches are much more permanent, whereas freezing will only last as as long as you maintain your concentration on the element. We will learn about notches later. Today, the Third-Years will show us how the freezing process works. We will learn how to, in effect, stop space. Observe, please. I’ll narrate what I’m doing as I do it.”

  A dark cloud appeared in the corner of the room. “Now, most of you know that I am a Fire-Breather, but I’m skilled enough that I can maintain some small control over all the elements. The cloud is a result of that. Now I’m going to turn it into a storm, pulling in the heat of electricity, which is where my strength lies.” The cloud grew larger, its shape building and climbing until it turned into a towering, black cumulus-nimbus cloud. All at once, a flash of lightning zapped downward toward the floor, but instead of instantly disappearing, it froze, its forked end suspended just inches above the tile.

  Gasps sounded as the class realized what the professor had done. Professor Sprynge turned back to the class, holding out his arm. “Now you see here a perfect illustration of stopped space, but unstopped time.” The clock on the wall above Professor Kilbrick’s head continued to tick. “You may want to plug your ears now.”

  Alayne clapped her hands over her ears as the professor turned back to the cloud. The fork of lightning disappeared as a ground-shaking crack of thunder split the classroom. She looked shakily over at Jayme. His wide eyes surveyed the scene. “That was awesome,” he mouthed to her. Alayne grinned.

  Professor Kilbrick then assigned the Third-Years to work as partners, instructing the First-Years to pair up and gather around to watch them. Kilbrick’s voice monotoned over the bustle of moving bodies. “As Elementals, class, you each have the responsibility to learn to work together with other Elementals. That isn’t always easy, and there’ll be disagreements. You must approach it with a spirit of teamwork. The Great Deluge happened because four Elementals lost sight of teamwork and destroyed CommonEarth. You must use your gifts with wisdom. Does that make sense?” She eyed the students in the front row, who were busy getting into pairs and paid no attention to her.

  Kilbrick cleared her throat as her cheeks flushed red again. “I’m glad it makes sense, because today we’ll be doing the exact opposite.” Her voice strained to break through the din. Pity stirred in Alayne. The poor woman maintained no control of her class.

  Professor Sprynge clapped his hands and an immediate hush descended on the classroom. “Today, Third-Years, you’re going to practice putting motion-stop on your partner’s element. You will work to create a bend with your element, and the partner I have placed you with will attempt to pull that control out of your grasp, stopping your element as I’ve showed you today. The person who holds their motion-stop the longest will gain five points extra credit for today’s class. Is that a good reward, Professor Kilbrick?” He smiled benevolently at his fellow teacher, who nodded helplessly from behind the podium. “Good. You will find any materials you need in the closet. One person from each partnership may quietly go and retrieve what you want. Then you will work together with your partner to create a motion-stop effect. First-Years, I want you to attempt to feel, to observe with your senses what is happening to the element you’re most comfortable with.”

  Jayme and Alayne worked their way toward the closest set of partners who sat near the front of the classroom. The girl glanced up at the First-Years around her and laughed, her eyes friendly behind her glasses. “Just watch me toast him.” She nodded at her partner who slumped in his chair with a lazy grin.

  “You think an awful lot of yourself, Callie Johnson.”

  “My grades support my reasoning, Trent.”

  “Sure, sure.” He went to retrieve materials, returning with a beaker of water and a bowlful of leaves.

  “Leaves?” Alayne eyed them doubtfully.

  “They’re light enough to move easily with air. I thought about using some of the cinder-blocks he had in there, but I’ll give myself some time, I think.” He winked at Alayne.

  Trent drew his chair out to face Callie and motioned toward the water beaker. “Okay, you first.”

  Callie grasped the beaker in her hands and set it carefully on the floor between them. She closed her eyes, and Alayne felt the disturbance in the water element as Callie brushed through it. Her fingers itched to join in, to try her own hand at willing the water to move, but she resisted. Callie swept the water into a spiral before pulling it upward, sprouting it in a hundred different directions.

  “Oh, excellent fountain, Miss Johnson.” Professor Sprynge stopped his tour of the classroom. “Yes, yes, yes, indeed,” echoed Professor Kilbrick as she shadowed Sprynge.

  Sprynge nodded at Trent. “Go on, Mr. Nicholas. Let’s see your motion-stop.”

  As Alayne continued to sense the water, she felt Callie’s sudden strain on it, holding the element bend firmly as another force pushed against the water fountain. Alayne glanced at Jayme. He nodded, smiling. “I can feel the strain in the air,” he whispered. The effort to break Callie’s hold on the water was turning Trent’s face red.

  At long last, though, Callie’s fountain began to slow, the drops of water lagging as they inched downward. Alayne felt the older girl’s battle to keep her hold on the element, but it slipped slowly and steadily from her hand. Then came the point where she and Trent were locked in a power struggle. She refused to let go of the last little bit of control, and Trent wouldn’t give up his efforts.

  Professor Sprynge began to clap. “Well done, well done, Mr. Nicholas. Almost there, you can do it.”

  Some of the other kids began to cheer. “Go on, Trent, you can take her. Her fountain’s looking pretty sluggish.”

  The drops fell slowly into the beaker, the small resulting spritzes of water arching up and out as if they were made of frozen molasses.

  The strain was evident in Callie’s rigid jawline. Her eyes widened as they traveled to her fountain. The droplets of water that had moved in front of Alayne flowed freely in a shifting, changing ball that grew as more drops were added to it. Callie’s grip was slipping, her fountain slowing still more, but Alayne had unconsciously liquified all water movement in front of her.

  Trent noticed. “Hey, that’s not fair. Johnson, you’ve got a First-Year helping you.”

  Callie let go with a snap. The fountain froze into a still painting as Alayne, embarrassed, yanked her hands away from the element. She hadn’t meant to play with it, but the element had responded to her intense focus on it.

  The water now splashed onto the tiled floor, running in rivulets along the cracks. The rest of the class let out a whoop, some of the boys clapping Trent on the back.

  Trent stared at Alayne. “How’d you do that? This is hard stuff.”

  Alayne shrugged, embarrassed. “I was just trying to get a feel for the element like Professor Sprynge said.”

  Trent nodded, his look thoughtful. Af
ter a second, he shook it off. He held out his fist to Callie, bumping her knuckles with his. “Nice job, Johnson.”

  “Not bad yourself, Trent.” She smoothed her hair back into its pony-tail as Trent tossed the leaves onto the floor in a pile.

  “Okay, First-Years,” Trent teased. “Watch a master-craftsman at work.”

  “Trent, stop being a doughnut.”

  “I just want them to see real skill.”

  “We saw that at the beginning of class with Professor Sprynge.”

  Trent brushed back his hair and leaned over to concentrate on his leaf pile. A light breeze blew by Alayne’s ankles, so faint she could hardly feel it. After a second, it grew stronger. The leaves rustled, a few of them lifting off the pile. Then the leaves began to turn in a circular motion, some of the outer ones straying under the table and into the aisle, but most of them were caught up into a dust-devil.

  Callie pushed her glasses up on her nose. “Okay, First-Years. Wish me luck.” As she concentrated, Alayne stretched again, searching more carefully for the element bend. It was difficult, much more difficult than the readily available water element. After a few minutes of hard concentration, she found it. The air element felt absolutely nothing like water, and it was stubborn. It didn’t cling to her hand like the water element did and for a while, she couldn’t figure out how to get it to behave. She could feel it swirling in obedience to Trent’s grip. She itched to grasp it; she could feel Callie’s struggle to control it. She touched it lightly and allowed it to slip through her fingers, this time leaving Callie to do all the work. She didn’t want to be embarrassed again.

  The leaves slowed. Alayne closed her eyes, feeling the movement of the air element in Callie’s hand, the tug-of-war she and Trent fought. Alayne swept her hand again, tugging gently on the air element, marveling at its smooth texture.

  Applause snapped her eyes open. Callie, flushed and victorious, stood with a bow. “A worthy opponent, Trent,” she said. “But admit it. I won.”