Elemental: Steele Stolen: Part 1 and 2

by Cheryll Hastie

  ‘Why isn’t it in our history books then?’ Jack asked.

  ‘History is written by the victors – I believe that is the correct phrase?’ Aloysius said. Jack nodded.

  ‘And the victors wrote you out because…?’ Jack said.

  ‘Why because victors don’t like to lose, do they Jack? They lost a great deal when the Elementals went into hiding and humankind decided that we would simply be ignored and eventually become myth, legend. Even old wives tales…’ he smiled again as he said this last and Jack couldn’t help thinking about Bob and the Verruca Gnomes.

  ‘Old wives tales?’ Cali asked, looking confused.

  ‘Yes, you know the bogeyman, the tooth fairy, that sort of thing,’ said Aloysius.

  ‘The Tooth Fairy?’ Jack asked, incredulously. Aloysius smiled and nodded. ‘One of the smaller and more obscure branches of Elemental lore but still vital. Human teeth are very useful, particularly milk teeth.’ There was silence while Jack and Cali considered this.

  ‘But my parents told me that they took the teeth…’ Jack said.

  ‘Ahh, yes. As the years passed the role of the tooth fairy changed. Have you ever wondered why your parents always lose your baby teeth?’ Another silence.

  ‘What your humankind were really doing though, was wiping us away once and for all, we could not exist if we didn’t bend to their will.’

  ‘And the Metal Elementals?’ Cali asked.

  ‘The Metal Elementals? They were the best of all of us,’ Aloysius said, though the smile had faded from his face.‘Beautiful, kind, selfless almost to the end. No wonder they were the rarest Elementals of all.’

  ‘What happened to the Fire Elementals?’ Jack prompted. Aloysius visibly shook himself. The soft and distant look disappeared from his face.

  ‘In those days Fire was the fifth element. Unlike the other four elements which are born from the planet and are permanent, fire is ever changing and is not created by the Earth. It consumes it,’ Aloysius said, a small frown creasing his green forehead.

  ‘What happened? Why did it all change?’ Jack said. There was another long silence, and the frown grew heavier.

  ‘To maintain a healthy balance only four elements are required and so the Fire Elementals were never a threat,’ Aloysius began and stopped. He got up from his chair quietly and looked to the door.

  ‘The Keeper’s out there,’ Jack reminded him. Still, Aloysius walked to the door listening intently for several long moments before returning.

  ‘Where was I?’

  ‘The Fire Elementals weren’t a threat,’ Cali said.

  ‘Right. That was until the Metal Elementals started disappearing.’ Jack’s eyes sharpened.

  ‘Disappearing?’

  ‘Yes. One by one, in small groups and regardless of the precautions we took more disappeared every day. Every single day,’ Aloysius whispered as if he could not quite believe it now, hundreds of years later.

  ‘No one saw anything?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Oh yes, of course people saw things but they were frightened. Those that reported what they had seen disappeared too. Or their families.’ Jack lapsed into silence.

  ‘Weren’t the Fire Elementals suspected?’ Cali asked.

  ‘Everyone suspected the Fire elementals. All the witnesses reported seeing Fire elementals at the scenes of the disappearances,’ Aloysius said. ‘Unfortunately the only proof was the fact that all instances involved a fire.’ His voice was calm but his anger was betrayed by the odd tremor in his voice when he spoke.

  ‘All of them?’ Cali said.

  ‘Every last one,’ Aloysius said grimly. ‘Eventually the scarcity of Metal Elementals began to affect the balance of Nature. It became…impossible. Without balance the elements of Air, Water and Earth became more and more difficult to control.

  ‘Something had to be done. At first we waged a war on the Fire Elementals. The battles were immense, the people lost on all sides countless, the blood of elementals turned the seas red and the balance between the elements wavered furiously.’Aloysius stopped and gave a long shuddering sigh.

  ‘What? What happened?’ Cali asked.

  ‘Just as it seemed hopeless the Fire Elementals made a suggestion that would solve all our troubles,’ Aloysius said closing his great green eyes and rubbing the lids softly.

  ‘What suggestion?’ Jack said, although he thought he knew.

  ‘They wanted us to make Metal the fifth element. Fire Elementals would gain more control but balance would be restored.’ Aloysius stopped talking now and his head drooped as if it were too heavy for his neck.

  ‘Go on,’ Jack said. Aloysius looked up and into Jacks eyes. The deep impenetrable green bored into his centre.

  ‘The elders of the time discussed the proposal at great length.’

  ‘And what did you do?’ Jack asked. Aloysius looked away before he answered, a strange half smile on his face.

  ‘At first we refused and continued our search for the remaining Metal Elementals. But there were so few left, so few and only one who was not in hiding.’

  ‘Only one…’ Cali said. Aloysius nodded.

  ‘The elders spoke to her – the High Priestess. We thought she was untouchable, another mistake among so many…’ he stopped again. Aloysius had lost his depth with the telling, as if the story corroded his deepest heart.

  ‘You speak as if you, well, as if you were there…’ Cali said, eyes wide. Aloysius smiled.

  ‘I was, for all the good I did,’ he confessed.

  ‘But … how?’ Cali said, shocked.

  ‘Our life spans are significantly greater than yours. Some of us can live for many centuries. If we are skilled enough in the art of glamour,’ Aloysius replied.

  Aloysius continued his story, his voice perhaps less resonant than before but with a dogged determination to see the thing through to the end.

  ‘As I was saying, our trust that the High Priestess, the leader of the Metal Elementals, would be unassailable was mistaken.’

  ‘No,’ Cali said rejecting the ending even as she knew it was true. Aloysius nodded.

  ‘Somehow the Fire Elementals, led by Auldred who calls himself the Black Prince, found her.’

  ‘What happened to her?’

  ‘No one really knows. If the rumours are true she just … vanished.’ There was a long silence.

  ‘Vanished?’ Jack said.

  ‘Yes,’ Aloysius replied.

  ‘Not taken?’ Jack said.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Aloysius said ‘maybe not. The general agreement at the time was that Auldred had her murdered.’

  ‘So no one apart from Auldred knows?’ Jack asked. Aloysius nodded.

  ‘Like Sophie,’ Jack was the one who voiced each person’s suspicion.

  ‘Very much like Sophie’s disappearance,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘You don’t think…?’ Cali began, alarmed.

  ‘No, he wouldn’t murder Sophie. He needs her,’ Aloysius said. There was no doubting the sincerity and conviction in his voice.

  ‘So the Metal Elementals were gone?’ Cali said.

  ‘To all intents and purposes, yes, they were gone.’

  ‘How did the Fire Elementals become the fourth element?’ Jack asked his voice tight.

  ‘The balance was awry, something had to be done and soon,’ Aloysius said not entirely steadily.

  ‘What did you do?’ Cali whispered.

  ‘The Metal Elementals were gone, the High Priestess had vanished, assumed dead. What could we do? We had no choice. We made Fire the fourth element.’

  ‘What?’ Cali asked her face whitened, although she knew Fire had become the fourth element. Jack knew how she felt. Somehow on some subconscious level he had always thought that the Fire Elementals had become the fourth element by default.

  ‘The Air, Earth and Water Elementals voted and it was agreed that Metal would become the fifth element. Fire became the fourth element and thus order was restored to Nature. Or so it appeared. There is no
longer any doubt that the Fire Elements slaughtered the Metal Elementals and drove them into hiding,’ he said.

  ‘Was there ever?’ Cali asked

  ‘The Black Prince has practically said outright that it was done and there is no doubt upon whose orders the genocide was committed.’

  ‘The Black Prince,’ Cali breathed the words.

  ‘Since all the known Metal Elementals are in hiding and their herds are hidden we must show cooperation and brotherhood to the Fire Elementals. If not, I have personally been assured that they will withdraw.’

  ‘That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing,’ Cali said.

  ‘You don’t understand. The bond of the four would be broken. Nature would degenerate. The bond is already weak.’

  ‘So you have to cooperate or the Fire Elementals will destroy everything?’ Jack said. Aloysius nodded.

  ‘Jack, the only way to restore the balance is to bring the Metal Elementals back into the four and make the Fire Elementals powerless.’

  ‘And Sophie?’

  ‘It’s crucial for Sophie to be safe with her parents until she is mature. She is the last hope we have. We can find none of the Metals who are in hiding – those who may have risked exposure before their kind were relegated feel betrayed. By the time another one is born it will be too late. And not just for us. Do you understand now Jack?’ Jack nodded slowly.

  ‘I do have a question though,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Yes?’ Aloysius asked, his calm green eyes holding tight to old regrets.

  ‘You said the High Priestesses disappearance was ‘very much’ like Sophie’s. They seem perfectly alike to me,’ Jack stopped.

  ‘Indeed they were, but in one small detail,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘And what was that?’ Jack said. He thought he saw a spark of something in Aloysius’ eyes, although perhaps it was just a memory turning over. The gnome hesitated before answering.

  ‘The Keeper was with the High Priestess when she vanished,’ Aloysius said. Cali gasped.

  ‘The Keeper?’ Jack asked his breath let out in a rush and a wave of relief flooding him.

  ‘But that’s fantastic – she can …’ Cali began.

  ‘I’ll go and…’ Jack started from the bed, feeling happier than he had for a long time.

  ‘You will discover nothing from her. Do not even try,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘But…’ Cali began.

  ‘The risk is too great. Many have tried to find a way and failed.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jack said ‘If I just…’.

  ‘Very sure. Sophie is our only hope Jack. I’m sorry,’ Aloysius said.

  Another silence, an old friend, while each digested what they had learned over the past hour.

  ‘What next then?’ Jack asked finally, moving the subject away from the Keeper.

  ‘As I have said we cannot publicly support any intrusion into the Fire Elementals headquarters,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘Yes, I know that already,’ Jack said gruffly.

  ‘We cannot, however, stop individuals from choosing to go with you,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘Someone wants to help us?’ Jack asked, a spark of hope danced in his stomach. Aloysius nodded.

  ‘Many have volunteered to go with you. More than you might imagine,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘No one’s said anything to me,’ Jack said.

  ‘That is because they have been asked not to. At least until you have agreed to go,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘So it’s already been decided, without even speaking to me?’ Jack asked.

  ‘I thought you might like to take some people who you’ve already met.’ With that, Aloysius stood, opened the door and called out.

  ‘I asked them to wait,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘Who is it?’ Jack asked. Aloysius turned to the door and waved his arm at whoever was there.

  ‘You know Gordy of course, and I believe you met Brayden immediately before the council meeting,’ Aloysius said. Jack gave Brayden a suspicious look, but the gnome was looking down at his shuffling feet.

  ‘Mmmf-mim-bumble,’ he muttered, the words impossible to hear.

  ‘Just the five of us? I guess it’s better than three. When do you want us to set out?’ Jack asked.

  ‘The sooner you set out the sooner the fate of our people will be resolved. You only have until Sophie’s seventh birthday,’ Aloysius said.

  ‘Why have I got to find her before her seventh birthday?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Seven is a very powerful number – there are seven oceans, seven continents, seven days in the week. This is not coincidence. When Sophie reaches her seventh birthday she will begin her growth from child to woman. If she is with the Fire elementals her growth will be twisted and if they persuade her to forfeit the Metal Elementals rights, then all is lost.’

  ‘What happens when we free her?’ Jack asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

  ‘When she reaches maturity – her sixteenth birthday - we can ask her to re-join Earth, Air and Water and expel the Fire Elementals. She alone can restore balance to Nature.’

  ‘I guess we’ll be leaving tomorrow then,’ Jack said. Aloysius laughed.

  ‘You must leave soon, but not that soon. We will take a week in which some of my friends and I will teach you as much as we can about the glamour and it’s uses. You will, with practice be able to utilise the Glamour yourself if you should wish to…’ Jack, for the first time, began to feel a little excited. Hopeful even. After all who would argue with someone who could do magic!

  ‘I wouldn’t get too excited Jack, few humans can practice the glamour satisfactorily and the few who do find that, in their world, it does not make them happy. What limited use you may gain will only help in our world,’ Aloysius said. Jack nodded though secretly he couldn’t help but feel Aloysius was wrong.

  ‘When do we start?’

  ‘I will advise you of the times of lessons tomorrow morning but rest assured you will not be bored,’ he nodded to the group and left closing the door behind him.

  ‘Well, that’s that then,’ Jack said as he looked around at the others. Cali, who was wildly twirling her chestnut hair around her finger, looked small and frightened. Gordy, not the life and soul of the party at the best of times, stood looking at the floor and muttering to himself. Brayden appeared nervous and younger than Jack had ever imagined he was. Jack was glad that the Keeper was coming with them.

  Chapter 8: Life Lessons in Glamour

  Jack was somewhere… different, somewhere dark and silent. He could hear was his own shallow breathing and his heart beating feverishly. He could see nothing.

  Suddenly pulsating light began to beat fiercely against Jack’s eyes – it felt like they were being pushed further into their sockets. He realised then that they were closed and immediately opened them. The room he was standing in was enormous; the ceiling and walls lost beyond the throbbing light but he knew he was inside. Though the place was noiseless the air itself echoed, an oddly familiar vibration of silence bouncing off solid walls. Jack looked towards the source of the light and saw a group of figures hiding it.

  He moved closer. The figures were moving. Dancing. Sinuous, flickering shadows slipped across their bodies, confusing his eyes. His shock ebbed as he watched them swaying and shimmering slowly around the light. They were mesmerising. The last elements of fright slipped away and he was immersed in the dance, the noiseless, wild dance to which he could almost hear the music. It would not be long until he would hear it, he was sure…

  The light flickered ever more quickly, disturbing Jack’s thoughts once more. The dancers were no longer keeping time with the pulsing light, their movements now disjointed and sharp, random and disconnected. Jack felt fear begin to edge into him and it crushed his desire to join the strange and wild figures. With mounting dread Jack stumbled backwards.

  He realised with mounting horror that he could not see the dancers faces. No matter which way they moved Jack could see only the back of thei
r heads, covered in lustrous manes of rippling black hair. Without warning, without even being aware himself of what he was about to do, Jack leapt into the air, straining to see over the top of the dancers, see what it was that they were hiding. He saw the briefest glimpse of something gold – shiny, golden and moving – at the hub of the wheeling dancers. Sophie.

  Jack stepped towards the dancers, slowly, terribly slowly despite the urgency rising within him.

  ‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ the words echoed in the cavernous room.

  Jack stopped. The urgency – the sense that there was only one small window, one chance, one brief opportunity - pulled him towards the dancers but the voice was compelling, commanding and Jack couldn’t refuse it. The Keeper’s voice was undeniable. Against his will, with every nerve and tendon screaming at him to go forward, Jack turned to face her.

  It was not the Keeper who stood behind him; instead Jack was face to face with the boy from the clearing but now his eyes, instead of glowing a deep orange, were the same molten gold eyes of the Keeper. Jack’s mouth dried up.

  ‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ the boy said again, loudly now. It was strange to hear the Keepers honeyed voice coming from his mouth. Jack didn’t reply.

  It’s a trick, Jack thought frantically. I shouldn’t have listened. I have to get to the centre of the circle! He tried to turn back to the dancers but he was moving too slowly, the syrupy feeling in the air had grown stronger; something was working against him.

  ‘WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR MY RIDDLE ?’ the boy roared. Jack jumped.

  ‘No,’ Jack said quietly into the ringing silence, his voice steady though he felt shaky.

  The boy grabbed hold of Jack’s arm in a vice-like grip, then dropped it so quickly that Jack had no time to react. Confused, Jack looked at the blank faced boy for a moment, trying to work out what had just happened. It was several moments before Jack felt a strange tingling in his lower arm, then warmth on his wrist that almost instantly turned into a terrible, searing heat. Jack looked down and saw that the boy had touched not his arm, but the bracelet Sophie had made. Jack looked back up at the boy and saw that his golden eyes were glowing.