by Ceri Clark
Directing her mind down through the pavement, she felt the slow mind of the Earth’s crust. It was slow, alien and... in pain she decided. She pictured the Earth deep underneath, trying to follow the source of the pain. Her geography was hazy but she knew as she travelled west, that her mind had left the UK, passed France and on into Italy.
Arriving at the source, she was horrified at the chaos she saw. Somehow the plates were pushed further away than they should be. She could feel the Earth's pain as if it were her own. Her arms ached as if stretched beyond their limits, held fast in a medieval torture device. Her mind raced and she realized she needed to make it cooler first. Kiera drew the heat away into the nearby sea, simultaneously assessing the damage.
It felt wrong, the plates needed to be closer to heal the rift. How had they moved so far apart? She concentrated, aligning herself to the tectonic plates. They felt as if they were part of her. Kiera pictured the plates fully in her mind as extensions to her arms, she began to pull them slowly together. It was slow and they felt so heavy. As her hands drew together, in reality the plates grew closer, until finally judging by feel they were where they should have been only minutes before.
Back in London, Mirim also knew exactly when the Earthquake hit. The work Kiera was doing was too late for the village at the bottom of the volcano. As the lava encased the houses, a thousand minds went silent. The chatter of their minds had been a drop in the ocean a few moments ago but their sudden absence was more profound to Mirim than anything she had experienced before.
Mirim raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. So many dead! Her eyes focused at the bus stop across the road. While she had been standing with Jake, the street lamp opposite them had blocked their view, but now, sat on the low brick wall she could see her. The girl from the train was sitting directly across from her.
Mirim rose to her feet, she had to get to her before a bus did. She raced to the pedestrian crossing only meters away. As she ran, a double-decker red bus paused to let her cross. Seeing the girl rise to her feet at the bus stop, she knew she must not let her get on that bus.
She wished Jake were there; he could have easily melted the engine. Or if she had been a water power, she could have flooded it. This was no computerized car such as they had at the Citadel. She had to influence the driver. Her mother’s words came back to her. You must never use your power to control others. Mirim knew it was unethical. Her mother had made her promise on the family’s honor to never to use her power to overshadow or control others against their will.
Standing in the middle of the pedestrian crossing she faced a dilemma. If she let the girl get on the bus, it might be hours or days before she could trace her again. It might be too late. She knew she had to do it now when it was safe to do so. She sent waves of thought to the driver and passengers. ‘The bus has broken down,’ she transmitted. She repeated the message again and again. ‘The bus has broken down; we might as well get off. The bus has broken down, we may as well get off.’
Mechanically the driver pulled the handbrake and shouted instructions to the passengers.
“Everybody off! The next bus will be along shortly.”
As if sleepwalking, the driver and passengers filed off leaving the bus parked in front of the crossing.
Relieved, Mirim rushed to the bus stop to talk to the girl. As she approached, the girl was looking at her oddly. Mirim pulled the other girl’s name from her mind.
“Kiera, my name is Mirim Ariel. I really need to talk with you.”
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“Mirim. This is not the place. Something big has just happened and from the look of you, you know what it was. Let’s go into the park.”
Confused, Kiera just stared back at the blond girl. There was no way she was going with this stranger. Exasperated, Mirim slipped into the girl’s thoughts. She didn’t have time for this! In a split-second she told Kiera about Eleria, the Citadel, who she was, what she was and what she was about to do.
Knowing the other girl would not be as experienced as her, she watched Kiera's eyes widen as she clamped her own awareness around the girl's mind. Mirim knew it was wrong but this was urgent, she had to do it. Their whole world was at stake. She commanded the earth talent to follow her. The girl’s mind fluttered in response, seeking to escape its cage but she was no match for Mirim. With expert skill she cut off every escape route mercilessly until her mind was still.
As if in a daze, Kiera nodded. She picked up her rucksack, balanced against the signpost and trailed behind her weaving through the abandoned passengers. She was petrified. She couldn’t escape the grasp of the alien mind surrounding her. Today she’d escaped her life in Ireland, saved a baby’s life and possibly stopped an earthquake in its tracks and now she was being forcibly dragged away by a stranger. She had to be going mad!
Walking into the park, Mirim didn’t stop at the first bench they passed. It wasn’t until they’d walked at least ten minutes in silence down a gravel path before she sat down. The further they walked the more agitated Kiera’s mind became as it tried to escape Mirim’s grasp.
Mirim sat and forced Kiera to sit beside her. She gently withdrew from Kiera’s consciousness and began to speak rapidly.
“We’ll be safe here. We’ll be able to see if anyone comes along. You are not from this world. I can prove it.” She added more slowly in a softer tone, “Do you have a green pendant or necklace?”
Nonplussed, Kiera stared wildly around. There was no one she could call for help. Sensing the other girl’s distress, Mirim sent her thoughts back to Kiera soothing her as if she were a wild animal. She settled herself back on the bench and tried to make herself as non-threatening as possible and waited.
Calming down slowly, Kiera silently reached behind her white shirt and brought out the small green crystal her aunt had given her.
Mirim continued, “That represents the earth element. It belongs to the Terill family - your family. It focuses your power. I’m not an Earth element so I don’t really know what you can do with it, but I do know that it is linked with nature. You can heal and you probably have an affinity with stones.”
Strange as it was to hear this, Kiera had always known that she was different. She thought it was because of her traveler blood. She had heard of fortune-tellers in other groups, so she just assumed that her power was some sort of extension to that. She didn’t really look like any of her family, she mused. It would explain why her father never paid her any attention - except when it profited him.
“OK, so if I am an earth element, what are you?” she asked.
“Air.” Mirim replied. Reaching into her own shirt she brought out a silk purse and showed her own small crystal.
“We are opposites or complementary powers - depending on your point of view. Traditionally yours and my family were great friends.”
“So what are we, priestesses or something?” Kiera asked.
“Huh, oh no. Our families, along with three others used to rule Eleria, our home world,” Mirim explained. “Somehow, the Magi, I’ll explain later, tricked their way into an Elementi stronghold and killed nearly all the ruling caste. There were five ruling families, the Firellis, Ariels, Aquels, Terills and the Omnax family. The eldest in the Omnax family is our High-King or Queen. The rest of the families are Kings and Queens of lesser domains. Each has a power. Your family has powers over earth and nature, mine air and sky, the Firelli had control over fire, and the Aquels water and the sea.”
“What did the Omnax have?” Kiera interrupted.
“Spirit. While the crystals focus our power, the Omnax family can focus the combined power of everyone. Even our domains reflected the crystal structure. My family had the highlands, yours, the fertile plains; Firelli ruled the desert people and the Aquels, the islands and coastal regions.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t come looking for me before now?”
“I had to wait for the High-King to activate his power. Without
him, I wouldn’t be able to find you. You could have been anywhere in the universe, in any universe! You were sent a hundred years in the future to keep you safe. My great-grandmother had to stay behind to keep the Matrix working. It needs an Elementi mind in contact at all times to stay alive.”
“Right, so that means you’ve already found the Omnax king or queen?”
“High-King.” Mirim corrected her. “Yes, but he doesn’t want anything to do with us.”
Mirim’s face twisted with frustration.
“It’s his heritage! He thinks it is not his problem. It is his problem. While he lives, the Emperor must die. There can only be one person with that power and Aras is not the true heir. To live, Aras must send someone to kill him. I can't do it all alone. I need help. Will you help me?”
“One more question, how come I can understand you? Surely if you are from another world you would be speaking another language?”
Mirim rubbed her forehead. She didn't have time for this!
“When we were children, although we can’t remember it, we were given our crystals to touch. At the same time we were introduced to the Matrix. Our minds were keyed to the Matrix mind as heirs. Our language would have passed to you in that instant. Take a look at the skin between your thumb and index finger.”
Kiera opened her left hand.
“No, sorry, I meant the other one.” Mirim said.
Examining the skin, Kiera saw a pale section of skin she had not noticed before.
“That happens when people are keyed into the Matrix. The pigmentation is somehow corrupted. No matter how tanned you get, you will always have a pale shaped circle there.” Mirim explained.
Kiera sat back thoughtful. There was nothing keeping her here. She planned to start a new life anyway. This was a new world Mirim was promising!
Decision made, Kiera replied “Yes, I think I will. Where do I sign up?”
Relieved, Mirim stood up. “It’s better if you stand up. The odds of teleporting to another seat are small. I fell over several times as a child when I tried that. I soon learned to stand!” As with Jake she showed Kiera how to access the Matrix. Together they ‘ported to Jake’s home.
They appeared by the same tree Mirim had rested against earlier. Mirim leant against Kiera.
“Are you all right?” Kiera asked.
“Yes” Mirim smiled weakly. “I just get really nauseous when I teleport.”
Kiera touched Mirim on the arm and concentrated, “Better?”
Mirim stood up straight, shaking her head experimentally.
“I wish you were around earlier!”
“Which house is the one from the Omnax family?” asked Kiera looking around.
“His name is Jake, Kiera.”
“What’s he like?”
“He’s clever. I picked that up from the meld.” Mirim pointed at the intercom.
“Do you know how to use that box?”
“Sure.” Kiera reached out to the box and pressed the button. It crackled for a moment and an impatient voice answered.
“Well, who is it?” A male voice barked.
Kiera raised an eyebrow. “Charming man.”
Pressing the button again, Kiera replied “We’d like to speak to Jake please.”
Nothing happened for a little while. Kiera was just about to try again. Maybe he hadn’t heard her? They heard a door close. Jake ambled towards them, hands in pockets, hood raised to keep the chill off.
“Mirim, you found her!” he called from halfway down the path.
“Yes, her name is Kiera. Have you changed your mind?” Mirim called back.
“Not really. I suppose I could help you find the other elements though. It’s Fire and Water next isn’t it?”
“Have you tried searching for them yet on your own?” Kiera asked.
Jake laughed ruefully as he drew close.
“Well actually I did. I sensed some fire activity about half an hour ago but however hard I try, I can’t sense any water. Could she be hiding near water?” Jake asked Mirim.
“Possibly, maybe if we search for the fire first we can use all our combined energy to find the water king.”
Kiera looked confused. “You know water is a boy?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” They both shook their heads. “Oh, my great-grandmother recorded the names of the children they sent away. You were all imprinted on the Matrix. That is why it is so easy to connect to it.
“You all have different Elementi names. Jake,” she pointed at the boy. “Your real name is Malo Omnax. Your mother named you after your father. Kiera,” she pointed at the girl “you are Lessa Terill. The others are Dinar Firelli, a boy’s name and Shey Aquel. Which could be a boy or girl’s name, but is likely to be boy.”
“Do you all want to come in?” Jake asked, rubbing his arms. “It’s getting cold out here.”
Mirim and Kiera nodded together. Noticing Kiera’s backpack, Jake asked Mirim, “Didn’t you bring any bags?”
Mirim looked embarrassed, “I didn’t expect to be here that long.” Jake shrugged and led the way up to the house.
“We’ll have to be quiet,” he said opening the front door. “Ben, my uncle, is back and he gets short-tempered at night.”
Quietly they crept past the living room and up the two flights of stairs to Jake’s room. Kiera didn’t know what she would expect from the room of the next High-King but this was not it. Her eyes roamed the room.
On the left she identified a computer buried under piles of paper. Wading through the dirty clothes on the floor she perched on the end of the unmade bed. A TV was on in the corner - just visible over the frame of a bike. How?’
Following her gaze, Jake saw the bike. “Oh, they won’t let me keep it downstairs overnight. I have to leave it outside or I bring it up here.”
Mirim shook her head. “Can you turn that noise down?”
“Sure.” Jake clambered over the bed.
“Wait!” Jake and Mirim turned to stare at Kiera, “What?”
“Listen! What they are saying on the news – look at that!”
‘Reports have come in of a volcanic eruption on the small island of Vulcano in Italy. Five British tourists were killed among the hundreds reported dead. Experts say they are baffled by the eruption. The last recorded eruption was in 1890. There were no warning signs.
It ended as mysteriously as it started. Experts are predicting no further eruptions in the immediate future. Evacuations are taking place as a precaution. If anyone has any friends or relatives in the area, the Foreign and Commonwealth Service has set up a phone line...’
“That was me! I stopped that volcano!” Kiera said. “I felt a tremor and suddenly I was there - inside the volcano. It was amazing.”
“That was about the time I felt the fire element used,” Jake interjected.
“The earthquake didn’t feel right. It was like someone had made it happen. It wasn’t natural.”
Mirim brushed her gold hair out of her eyes. Could Dinar Firelli have gone bad? The thought was too terrible to even think of. Who knew what kind of life he grew up with here? The fire element was the most volatile and the family tended to follow the pattern... but to cause a volcano? She had never heard of the family going that far.
Kiera and Jake looked at Mirim expectantly. Mirim sighed, “We have to find him and find out what happened. If he’s gone mad we will have to stop him, somehow. If we can get him to the Citadel, maybe we can do something for him.”
“Jake, do you have a map?”
“Sure.” His voice sounded puzzled. He crossed over to where his computer desk stood. Reaching up to the shelves he pulled a large atlas out of its place. He moved towards the bed, kicking a pair of jeans as he offered it to Mirim. Mirim took it and flicked through it to find what she needed. The open page showed the entire globe flattened out. She motioned the other two to kneel beside her.
“Jake, get out your crystal and concentrate on what you felt when the volcano happened. Hang the crysta
l over the page. It should pull you to where he is. We’ll help you.”
Jake pulled the crystal from behind his t-shirt. It was glowing slightly, seemingly in anticipation. Placing it over the book, he channeled his awareness through the crystal. He felt Kiera and Mirim’s consciousnesses join his own, in a small pyramid of power with his own mind the apex.
The crystal weaved across the page as if looking for where to go. As it hovered over the channel, he got a brief flash of water. Jake shook his head. Mirim’s thought reached him, Concentrate! Moving the crystal over the water on the map, he felt the crystal motion change to a circular motion. “He’s over the water. He’s in the shape of a... bird?”
They could all see it now. It was a bird of prey with red and gold feathers. As they watched, it turned its head as if it sensed their attention. Jake could hear Mirim gasp behind him. The bird ignored them and flew faster. Their vision kept pace and they saw it begin to writhe in the air. It was fighting something! The air around it shimmered and shone a brilliant white. A moment later and it was gone. There was nothing but the grey sky and sea.
The vision faded away, and all three collapsed on the floor with cramp.
“Next time we do this, I vote we sit in chairs,” Kiera grumbled. She grabbed her crystal and healed herself first before hovering her hands over the other’s calves.
Mirim didn’t reply, deep in thought. Something wasn’t right. She’d felt the energy ripples which only happened when teleporting through to another dimension. He couldn’t travel on his own. Aras must have found a way to grab him.
She reached out to the Matrix. Deep in the Citadel the yellow crystals lit up as she connected. He hadn’t used the power of the Citadel. He must have been taken! But to where? She entered the coordinates into the Matrix. Tracing the trail from Earth it led direct to Eleria. She gasped as she saw the final destination. Not only did he go to Eleria but the coordinates led right back to the old Elementi castle!
Mirim withdrew smoothly back into her body. Jake had said he couldn’t even get a glimmer of the water element. His power should be strong enough now that he should at least feel something. What if the heir never arrived on Earth? Her mother had said the power had failed on the last transfer. Their checks would have shown that he or she would not have been on Eleria at the time, but what if she were sent to the future Eleria - the Eleria of now? She had to get Jake and Kiera back. The other elements were back there now and for good or for worse she needed to reunite the powers - even if she had to lie. Decision made she turned to address Jake.