Elements of Power (Council of the Harvest Moon Book 1)

by Kate Stoessel

  I was so preoccupied with the game that I didn’t notice the trouble brewing around me.

  SMASH! The booming sound startled me, and I turned to see that my shell chair had been reduced to tiny pieces.

  “¡Pero qué chingados!” Itzel exclaimed from next to me. Standing behind her was a guy that could only be described as humongous, easily over 6 feet with muscles like a bodybuilder. Stepping over the destroyed chair, he walked towards me. It was only then that I noticed the “Triple A Trio” cowering behind him. I guessed that my little comment from earlier hadn’t gone over well.

  “Would you like to explain to me what is going on?” I asked, attempting to keep my voice level.

  He looked at me and then at Orpheus and Anubis. “Figures that these are the people who tolerate you.” His voice was laced with a mix of vitriol and the kind of courage that came from a bottle. “It would be best if you left,” he commanded in a voice that was both deep and childlike somehow.

  “Why is that?”

  “You are frightening my lady friend,” the guy responded, pointing to Ariel. When I didn’t respond, he took another step towards me. I’d seen his type before. He thought he could intimidate me into getting what he wanted. Fists first, ask questions later. “She said you caused that Tsunami. You could have taken out this whole island. Now leave.”

  “Brett,” Orpheus began. “You really don’t want to do this.”

  “What are you going to do about it? Make me feel sad?” the big man laughed. “No matter what the faculty thinks, your stupid powers aren’t that useful.”

  “It isn’t me who is going to make you feel sad if you keep messing with Khlorie,” Orpheus mumbled under his breath.

  “I am not looking for trouble,” I replied. “I am just playing a game.” I made a big show of looking around. “See? No rain, no giant waves, nothing out of the ordinary. I would never purposefully harm anyone.”

  “That makes one of us,” Brett sneered. He reached down and picked up the large boulder Perry had been sitting on and smashed it as if it were an aluminum can. Enhnaced Strength. Quickly, I called up a shield charm that should block most punches. “ Okhanon .” The shimmering protective orb formed around me, as Brett took another step in my direction. He may be a “basic,” but he could do real damage to me if my shield failed. I needed a plan. Now.

  “You need to leave, before I make you leave,” Brett continued, now only inches away from me.

  “Step. Back. Now.” Perry’s voice shook with rage as he stepped in front of me. The wind began to whip around, blowing more and more aggressively in Brett’s direction. The goon’s eyes widened at the sight of my trainer. Instinctively, he began backing up now into a less populated area of the beach, and Perry pursued him like a hawk circling its prey. Despite Orpheus’ protests, I followed. I was not letting anyone fight my battles alone.

  “I wasn’t talking to you, Prentice.” Brett’s voice sang out with disdain. These two obviously didn’t like each other. For all his bravado, however, Perry had him backtracking. “You think you own this school because you are top of the class. Well, I don’t think you’re as dangerous as everybody seems to think.”

  “Is that what you are? Dangerous? For picking a fight with a first year who hasn’t even triggered all of her powers?” Perry’s mocking tone was laced with a hard edge. He was angry.

  “We both know she is a hell of a lot more than that. You saw the tsunami. If she can’t control herself, she shouldn’t be allowed around the rest of us.”

  “Khlorie,” my trainer said quietly, turning to me. “I need you to go stand with Orpheus.” His voice was strained, and his eyes never left Brett.

  “I’m not leaving you with the goon. I can help.”

  Perry groaned, but there was no further time for debate. Across from us, Brett arched his back and dropped his head like a bull preparing to charge. Quickly, I called another shield, this time for Perry. It was just in time, as Brett began throwing large rocks full-strength at us both. They bounced off my shields easily. But I didn’t know how much more they could take. Luckily, Brett was not the patient type. He began to charge, and Perry hit him full on with a wall of wind, knocking him backward at least six feet. My trainer stalked over to Brett, who was lying pinned on the floor by the force of the winds. Menacingly, Perry placed a hand on his opponent’s chest. The action was so simple, yet so deadly. I could feel the air being sucked out of strongman’s lungs. Brett began straining for air. Gasping and gulping, he pleaded with his eyes for Perry to let him go.

  “You have no idea how dangerous I am. You will not speak to, or about, Khlorie again. Blink twice if you agree.” Brett blinked twice and Perry lifted his hand, air once again filling the muscular guy’s lungs. Ariel came running over, tears in her eyes.

  “Brett! Brett!” She called. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” She sobbed over him, helping him get up.

  Perry was heading off the beach in the direction of the cabins, and I followed. As we passed, the other students gave us a wide berth. No one was picking a fight with Perry tonight. I’d be shocked if anyone who saw this picked a fight with him ever again.

  “Do you have all of your things?” My trainer asked without looking back.

  “I need my shoes,” I responded quietly.

  “Get them. I will wait here,” His voice was strained, and the wind still lingered around him, like he was letting air out of a balloon in small spurts. His body was tensed, and he stood rooted in place as I got my shoes.

  When I got to the group, Anubis and Orpheus were assessing the damage. “Freaking basics,” the second year mumbled under his breath. “Brett would never have taken Perry on if he wasn’t drunk. He should have known better.”

  Orpheus nodded, but was looking at me and up the beach at his friend.

  “I’m so sorry,” Itzel called coming back over. “You knew something like this would happen and I forced you out tonight. Don’t worry, I gave Anita and Arya a piece of my mind, and when I see Ariel again…”

  “I think Ariel has been through enough, honestly,” I responded looking at my friend. Off to the side, Brett was up and moving again. It seemed that the only thing injured was his pride. As horrible as he had been, I was relieved. “As for the bonfire, there was some time in the middle there that I was having a really good time,” I laughed. Around us, the party was kicking back up as if nothing had happened. “Stay with the guys and have fun.” I gave her a quick hug and picked up my shoes.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Itzel asked, eyeing my trainer. “I can come with you.”

  “It’s fine, really.”

  “Perry would never hurt Khlorie,” Orpheus added, reassuring my roommate.

  After saying my goodbyes, I reached Perry, shoes in hand, and walked with him quietly off the beach. All around, people were pointing and whispering at us. Amidst it all, Perry looked straight ahead. When we were safely off the beach and walking along a deserted cottage row, Perry started to relax a bit. I fell into step beside him.

  “You should not have come tonight.” Perry spoke evenly, breaking the long silence.

  “What?!” I didn’t know what I expected him to say, but this was not it.

  “The bonfire, the water, the forest on the edge of the beach… It could have been a disaster,” I stopped, and he kept on walking, only pausing when he realized I was still rooted to my spot. Not meeting my eyes, he walked back towards me. “All I’m saying is…”

  “I know what you are saying,” I cut him off. “You sound like Brett.”

  “That’s unfair, Khlorie.” Perry said coldly.

  “Don’t you think I thought of the potential issues? I wasn’t planning on going. But I’m glad I did. I had fun. It was nice to feel normal for five seconds. I didn’t set off wildfires, or cause a tsunami, or a tornado, or an earthquake. I didn’t suck the air of a classmate’s lungs either,” I added angrily.

  “I was under control,” Perry said through gritted teeth.

 
“Were you?” I challenged. “I could have handled Brett without you swooping in to defend me.”

  “What do you think the ACC is training Brett to do?” His eyes finally met mine, searching for understanding. “He is dangerous, and he could have hurt you, badly. He wanted to hurt you. Not because he was worried about Ariel or anyone else. He wanted to hurt you to show that he could beat Tsunami-Girl. You are a target, Khlorie.” Concern flashed in the depths of his eyes. “I did what I did to warn him not to try anything again. He needed a strong message.”

  “You don’t need to fight my battles for me. I am more capable than you think.”

  “Dammit, Khlorie. You’re probably the most powerful witch here, and I’m not just talking about your elemental powers. I saw you transform those shells earlier. Trained transformation witches would have a hard time with that. Those shields you cast took multiple hits from Brett. But it would not have been smart for you to engage when you are still triggering your powers.” He paused. “There was no telling what would have happened. I don’t underestimate you. You underestimate what people will do when they are afraid or jealous.”

  “People will always be afraid of me, Perry.” I responded quietly. “I can’t hide forever.”

  “You’re wrong. Being like us means that we will always be hiding.” That hung in the air between us until we started walking again. These elemental powers were essential to the ACC, but we were never to discuss them or Spindlewick. “I am not asking you to never leave your cottage. I just don’t want you to put yourself in unnecessarily dangerous situations until we have these powers triggered and under control.”

  “I understand,” I finally spit out. “Thank you. For tonight and for helping me in gardening on Monday.”

  He nodded in response and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

  “This is me,” I told him when we reached cottage 14.

  “Okay,” he said, but didn’t leave immediately. Lingering outside the door, I took in the enigma in front of me. It should have felt awkward, but it didn’t. I liked spending time with him, even if we were just standing quietly. “I’ll see you in gardening,” Perry responded eventually. “I think your idea of having two plots is a good one. I’ll talk to Ed before class and get that set up. I know she’ll have ideas for testing your elemental abilities in the garden.”

  “Sounds good,” I responded.

  “Well, I should go.” He began slowly walking away as I opened the door to my cottage. Pausing before he reached the end of the walkway, he turned back towards me. “You look beautiful tonight, Khlorie,” he said quietly, without meeting my eyes. With that, Perry Prentice walked into Spindlewick’s dark night.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Reach towards the sky, Khlorie. Sense the precipitation in the air. Call it to you,” Professor Promyana told me as we sat on the lawn in front of Coventry Hall. The transformation teacher set me the task of making it rain this morning in Magical Weather, and I was failing miserably. The day that I called the wave, I’d made it rain without even thinking about it. Doing it consciously was proving much more difficult. Neasa from gardening and a flying student named Rhys were busy using forecasting spells under Professor Promyana’s watchful eye. Jealousy filled me. I could use a forecasting spell in my sleep, and I was exhausting myself trying to “commune with precipitation.” This was not how my power worked. That much was obvious.

  “Don’t worry Khlorie. We will get there,” the professor told me at the end of class. “Have you been taking advantage of the meditation classes? I think learning to check in with yourself would be beneficial for you. There is one every day at sun-up, noon, and sundown.”

  “I will go today, Professor.” I assured her. Collecting my things, I walked over to the library to get some work done on Perry’s reading assignment. The failure of this morning made the lack of progress in Independent Study even more frustrating. I flipped through the pages of Witching with Water, taking notes on the relationship between emotions and the water element.

  Do I have to be emotional to use my powers? I didn’t know the answer, but I jotted the question down in my notes, along with a record of how Magical Weather had gone that morning. Looking across the main room at the library, I spotted the table where Perry sat during our study sessions. I knew he would be sitting there tonight while I read in the Fireplace Study Room. Him telling me how beautiful I looked felt like a distant memory. A wonderful, perfect, distant memory. The kind that bred stomach butterflies. Perry had barely uttered a sentence to me since then, though. He went from the guy who put himself between me and danger to the picture of detached professionalism in just one week. It was enough to make my head spin.

  Shaking him out of my thoughts, I finished up in the library and headed over to the Community Center. As soon as I walked through the narrow entryway, an assortment of students came into view chatting and milling around. Anita eyed me warily out of the corner of her eye, but Ariston came over and said hello.

  “Khlorie,” called a friendly male voice. Turning around, I saw Orpheus walking towards me, his smile beaming brightly. The other students watched as the popular upperclassman regarded me so familiarly. “I’m so happy you could make it. Why don’t you come sit next to me?” He motioned for me to take a bolster next to him and I did it happily. Orpheus had a way of making everyone feel at home.

  Apparently, it was routine that when Orpheus arrived it was time to get settled. He did not have to say anything for the mingling to stop. Everyone started heading to their seats in the circle. It was a small group this afternoon, only about 8 witches.

  “Relax,” Orpheus leaned over and whispered into my ear.

  “What?”

  “Meditation is about taking time for yourself and checking in with your emotions. There is nothing to worry about,” he added.

  Orpheus began the session with a guided breathing routine. As he spoke, he sent calming energy out into the room. With each breath in, calm embraced my body. With each breath out, I released anxiety, anger, and failure. It was like taking a sedative and a mind clarity potion all at the same time.

  “Now,” Orpheus’ soft voice began. “Begin to create a picture in your mind of a place where you feel content. Where you can truly be yourself. Where you can relax. What does this place look like? Feel like?”

  The image pieced itself together in my mind. I was standing barefoot in a glen. Light poured through the canopy of trees overhead. A small waterfall danced in the distance and the soil was loosely packed under my feet. Reaching down and grabbing a handful of the soil, I felt an energy coming alive inside of me.

  My power . I could finally feel it as it moved throughout my body.

  Walking over to the waterfall, I ran my hands underneath the cascade, and the energy jumped forward again. It was inside me. Sitting in this imaginary cradle of nature, my powers shimmied and skittered through my system. The sensation felt right. I had been going about this all wrong. Elemental powers weren’t like witchcraft. Witchcraft was the manifestation of intention and control in order to manipulate the world around you. These powers were about my connection to the world around me. They were extensions of me- my feelings, my thoughts, and my desires. If I could reach them here, I knew I could reach them in my daily life. It would simply take clarity and concentration.

  Far too soon, Orpheus began bringing us back by gently tapping a singing bowl. I slowly opened my eyes to find eight witches staring at something in the center of our circle.

  “My seeds,” Ariston said quietly. In the center of the room was a beautiful collection of mums in fall colors. Getting up gingerly, I walked over and touched the flowers. They were in perfect health though they had never touched soil. They had grown in minutes from seed to bloom. Collecting them all, I handed them to Ariston.

  “My apologies, I must have reached out to them while we were meditating,” I replied.

  “Thank you,” he responded.

  “What?!” I asked, surprised.

  �
��I got these seeds from Ed because I love mums. But I’ve never been able to grow them from seed before. Now, all I have to do is plant them. This is the best!” With that, my classmate gathered his flowers and happily popped out of the Community Center. Others followed, giving me a healthy mixture of smiles and sideways glances. All around, witches were thanking Orpheus and stepping over sleeping classmates to head back out into their days. Orpheus truly had a gift, and I was grateful that he was sharing it.

  “Khlorie, hang out a minute,” he said as he went around the room waking up students who had fallen asleep during the session. I paused, waiting for him to finish saying his goodbyes. After we spelled away all of the meditation tools and closed up the Community Center, the empath and I began walking back across campus to the residential area. I wasn’t sure why he asked to talk with me, but I always enjoyed his company.

  “That was incredible.” I said finally. “How long have you been doing these meditation sessions?” I asked as we walked leisurely across the grassy hill in front of Coventry Hall.

  “That one was more incredible than usual. We don’t usually have flowers grow from seed to bloom mid-session.” He smiled. “Well, meditation became really important to me when my empathic powers manifested. I needed to learn to be present at all times because, before I could control my gift, I was radiating whatever mood I was in towards the people around me. That turned out to be pretty devastating.”

  I must have looked skeptical because he continued. “Well, it might not be Tsunami-level devastation, but spreading anger or sadness into a group of people can have its own terrible consequences. Anyway, when I got to Spindlewick, I could sense everyone’s nervousness and fear. When I got a hold of my powers, I wanted to do something to help balance that out. So, last year I started the meditation session. I figured that I was going to go meditate three times a day, anyway, so why not let others benefit from what I had learned.”