by Gabi Moore
So the mall owner’s big plan had failed again? Karanzen laughed to himself. He thought he knew how to keep that kid from the Elemental Grandmasters, but every plan he’d came up with didn’t work. Dion saw through every one of them somehow. The swim team plan might’ve worked if Dion was an average American male, but he wasn’t. The security chief had to give him some credit: bringing those idiots from his high school into the mall was a stroke of pure genius. In one sweep, he’d eliminated the only rival he had in the water elementals and increased his own group in size and capacity. Too bad he hadn’t had that kid in Korea, he might’ve returned with the men under his command, but it was best not to think about that place.
Karanzen had watched the second plan bungle when the mall owner sent out another wave of water elementals after the first plan failed. At least there was a fallback plan, too bad it didn’t work. He’s sat and watched on the security cameras as the group of three nymphs rounded up the couples who were wandering around the mall. They took them to that aquarium supply place which only opened up yesterday. He was surprised to see them apprehend the pool storeowner. He almost bet against Dion succeeding when he entered the aquarium store. However, he’d emerged victorious as ever when everyone strolled out of it less than an hour later. The place had been locked against intruders; the real owner couldn’t get inside it and was on her way down to see him when the doors opened.
Minutes later his phone had rang and he received the go ahead to do it his way. About time. Just that he couldn’t keep them out the last two days was no reason to let them in today. It was the mall owner’s idea to stage the fake barricade at the mall entrance this morning and make them think they’d entered the mall by their own subterfuge. He was supposed to hang back and let Mr. Big’s fiendish plan flawlessly execute. Although the flashback to Korea hadn’t been part of the plan, but it gave him the cover he needed. His men still thought an ‘episode’ was why he’d allowed the kids into the mall today.
“You ready to tow this thing off, Boss?” It was Izzy behind the wheel of the tow truck. He was anxious to wrap things up for the day and head home.
“Just hang tight,” Karanzen told him. “I need an excuse to call the cops. Little punk comes out here and gives me some lip; I’ll have all I need to have him arrested.”
“I still say you should just call them anyway and worry about a reason later,” one of the other security officers said to him. “I’m sure we could find something to plant in this van. Don’t you have all kinds of fun things in that safe in the office?’
“Shut up!” Karanzen snapped at him. The safe was common knowledge among the guards, but he didn’t like them talking about it. “We’re going to do this my way and avoid any problems down the road. The cops will make the arrest and he’ll be banned from the mall forever.”
“This is another one I need to handle on my own,” Dion told his crew. “Everyone stay put and I’ll go out there and find out what they are up to. I don’t need any of you getting into trouble on my account. Just watch from the window in case I need some kind of a witness later.”
“You should let us go with you,” Cynae said.
“Just stay here,” he told them. “I can handle this one myself. I have three of the four full elemental powers. I don’t expect there is anything they can do to me now I can’t stop.”
“I think he’s too sure of himself,” Captain Gabriel said to Salacia as he watched Dion walk down the corridor to the parking lot. “Too many things out there that can go wrong. I think he’s really walking into a trap this time.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “But we’ll have to let him find a way out of it himself. If he’s truly going to be the one to gain the fifth elemental mastery, he’ll need to be able to do it by himself.”
The Naiad sisters were pushing up to the window to get a good look at the action in the parking lot. Their chess club boyfriends were doing the same, but neither of them had any clue as to what the security guards planned outside in the parking lot. All they could see was the uniformed men around Dion’s van in the distance.
Lilly was worried and at the window with the rest of them. There was still a quick exit to the parking lot on their side of the building, but it wasn’t supposed to be used unless for emergencies. How Dion had opened it to allow the air elemental sylph out without setting off the alarm still puzzled her. Usually the alarm would howl the moment anyone pushed down on the handle.
Sean and Emily were behind the rest of them. They wanted to see how this all ended too. Sean had watched Dion perform some biblical miracles and had no doubt he could handle it all himself. Still, no one knew what might happen out there.
“You’ve done very well for yourself,” the captain said to his ex-wife as they watched Dion leave to meet the uniformed committee at his van. “People tell me you own all kinds of businesses in this town. Does your skill come from being an Elemental Grandmaster?”
“No, it comes from knowing how to get the best deal. And how to take care of the customer.”
“So, did you have the elementals scheduled to sell pools for your today or was that a coincidence?” She stood very close to him.
“A little of both. I’d planned to have some models come out and told the sales staff about my idea. When the sisters appeared they assumed it was who I was talking about.”
“Worked out pretty good for you.”
“All you have to do is set up the right conditions, the rest follows.”
“Let’s hope Dion is walking into the right condition.”
Karanzen watched the doors to the mall. He had to be out here soon. He knew the kid was inside with his little gang observing everything. How could he miss it? The van was in plain view of the mall. He kept a watch on the doors right until the moment they opened and Dion appeared.
It wasn’t very dramatic. One moment shoppers were going in and out of the mall, the next Dion was slowly walking down the concrete toward him. He didn’t have anger in his face, or so it seemed from the distance, just puzzlement. Karanzen was certain it would change when they told him the van contained ‘controlled substances’. If he were like any other Midwestern kid, even a transplant such as Dion would lose control, which would give them all the authority they needed to impound him as well. His aunt and uncle would be forced to pick him up after they paid the bail bondsmen, since he was now a legal adult. And he would never have to worry about that punk being in his mall again. The mall owner would be forced to admit Karanzen was right all along and would no longer bother him about security.
Dion stopped two car lengths away from the security chief and his men. He’d left the map inside with Lilly just to be safe. There was one more section of the mall he needed to visit tomorrow and then the clock tower in the center. This was simply an attempt to keep him out tomorrow and ban him from the mall. Of course, Karanzen didn’t need a reason to keep him out, but it looked bad if he didn’t attempt to justify what he did.
“Why do you have a tow truck around my van?” Dion asked him. “I don’t recall I did anything wrong inside the mall today.” He stood his ground and made sure Karanzen was a safe distance away.
“Shoplifting is a crime, Dion,” Karanzen called out to him. “We had a report someone was using a van to haul merchandise they hadn’t paid for and we decided to investigate. We found all kinds of goods in the back of it you hadn’t paid for. Now we’re going to haul the van off and impound it. I’m afraid you won’t be allowed to come back here again.”
“Is that the best you can do, Officer Karanzen?” Dion called back to him. “Plant fake evidence in my van? I would expect you’d be much more creative. Perhaps my uncle has misjudged your abilities.”
“Your uncle seems to have some trouble reeling you in. It’s up to me to show him how to do it right. Now go away before we have to call the police.”
“I wouldn’t touch that van,” Dion called across the lot to him. “I advise you to just leave it alone and go back inside the mall.”
“What are you going to do? Send some of your girlfriends on the swim team out here to interfere. Just get out of here and get a ride home, Dion. You are banned from the mall.”
Dion looked at the sky. It would take too long to get the elementals to bring the clouds over the parking lot. Even if he could find ones who wouldn’t have to be bound to help him. He needed another way to bring this to an end without causing too much damage. As far as he could see, it left one thing he could do.
The creek, which ran near the mall, had never been very large. It fed into the local river, which wound its way down to the larger Ohio River, to the Mississippi River and from there into the sea. It was underground in a metal culvert most of the time and flowed under the highway. However, it still ran open next to the parking lot at the mall. The local water control board insisted it be maintained to control run-off and not flood the streets when the mall was constructed. It was hidden by a strategically planted grove of trees, which boarded the parking lot. It still provided plenty of water when it rained. After the recent spring showers, the creek water reached up to the banks.
It provided a nice home for the water elementals, which was all Dion needed.
Dion closed his eyes and felt them swimming in the water, invisible to most people, but now so easy for him to see and control with his new powers. Still, he needed to persuade them to come and help. They didn’t care much for the men who’d dumped sand and gravel in their creek. Dion only needed to make a few promises to get their help.
The sound came from the edge of the parking lot and caused Karanzen and his men to turn their heads in its direction. They couldn’t see what caused it because it came from the other side of the tree line. It was a bubbling noise, similar to a sink overflowing. The sound increased in pitch and the tow truck driver shut the engine down to hear it better. Now they could see what the cause was.
Water overflowed from the creek banks. They could see it rising as it flowed across from the tree line and in their direction across the field. The water bubbled up and poured at them as it pushed loose dirt and soil toward in front of it. The security guards stopped what they were doing with the van and walked to Karanzen with a look of fear in their eyes.
Now the water flowed into the parking lot and across the asphalt. It came as a stream, which had changed directions. Although the parking lot had drains to take care of sudden downpours, it was impossible for them to manage this intense lake which had materialized in the outer edge of the lot. The security guards looked down and saw the water cover their boots. This was no longer something they could sit back and survey. The shoppers who entered and left the mall stood and watched the pool form in the midst where their cars were parked.
And it was even worse because there was not a cloud in the sky. Dion had sent the few away to make it clear to Karanzen and his men why the water flowed into the parking lot.
“You can stop the lot and mall from flooding,” Dion told him. “All you have to do is unhook your tow truck from my van and get away from it.”
Before Karanzen could issue a command, the security guards scampered over the van to detach the truck from it. The driver of the tow truck jumped into it and dropped the wench slowly so there would be no damage to the van. Once the front wheels of the van rested on the ground, he waded through the water and helped two more guards unlatch the hook from the front bumper of the van. Still up to their ankles in water, they reattached the spare tire compartment in back, which, in their zeal, they’d taken off as a trophy.
Finally, the tow truck driver gunned the engine and drove it as far away from the van as he could get. Water sprayed into the air as the wheels of the truck sent it into the sky.
Dion closed his eyes again and had a brief conversation with the elementals that lived in the creek. They were disappointed over what he wanted them to do right now, but they’d had their fun for the day.
The water began to flow back to the creek. It reversed its direction and swept back across the lot. In a few minutes, the lake, which was in formation in the parking lot, was gone. The look of relief on the faces at the windows of the mall was evident.
Karanzen glared at Dion. “You still need one more power,” he snarled at him. “Just try and get in here tomorrow.” He stomped off through the parking lot, his wet boots making noise as they slapped on the damp parking lot.
Dion looked at the entrance of the mall and watched his friends emerge. Lilly was right out in front, followed by Sean and Emily. Behind them came Dennis and the chess club, with the Naiad sisters. Captain Gabriel and Salacia were still inside looking out from the windows.
I suppose you will try to keep me out tomorrow, Dion thought. I need to master the fire element before I can tackle the fifth one. We’ll see what happens then.
Fire
Chapter 1
The security guards spent the entire morning and worked their way through the parking lot, checking over every car and truck that arrived early. They took up positions at all the entrances to make sure no one that pulled into the lot. There was only one person they needed to keep out. After the previous day’s confrontation with Dion and his elemental abilities, they had no desire to repeat the mistakes made the days before. They were under strict orders to keep him out, or else.
Officer Karanzen stood watch in the parking lot and checked every car coming in for the early shift. Although the mall didn’t officially open until ten in the morning, there were plenty of people who needed to get there by eight to start work. He knew it would be impossible to check every car once the shoppers arrived in force. Right now, he had the opportunity to catch Dion and whomever he brought along, if the kid came early. He’d been there early every other day, so Karanzen expected him to be there long before the mall doors opened for the day.
Today, Dion needed to find the last elemental grandmaster and obtain full authority for this final ability: fire. Karanzen knew that a failure to stop him this time would mean the end of his term of service at the mall. The owner and builder of the mall, Seth Bach, had employed him for the express purpose of keeping Dion out. He’d give him powers normal people knew nothing about. These powers could be taken away with ease and Karanzen would find himself back in the same wretched state he’d been in previously. He wasn’t about to end up where he’d been prior to the mall.
Something began to bother Karanzen about his security guards. He’d handpicked every one of them based on their references and applications. They all appeared to be good men who knew how to do the job and take direction. However, something seemed a little odd about all of them. They claimed to have a life outside their jobs, but seldom spoke about what they did. The mall housed them in one large group home in the nearby town of Scipio and they drove into work at the same time. He needed to go back and look at those applications on file. He’d do that the first opportunity he had.
So far, they’d found no sign of Dion or any of his friends. Last night Dion had driven off in the van the security guards tried to impound. Then the creek suddenly overflowed. It was impossible to deny Dion had caused the creek to run over its banks. Dion had received his third elemental full power authority from Salacia Delphi, the woman who owned the pool supply store.
Karanzen had his men impound the young man’s van and was ready to kick him out of the mall permanently when the water began to pour across the parking lot from the nearby creek. The drainage system was supposed to handle overflows of such a large nature, but it didn’t. It wasn’t until they unhooked his van from the tow truck the water began to recede.
Dion had waited for his friends to emerge from the mall and join him before he left. Karanzen had watched him leave the parking lot in the van. The security chief stood in place and seethed in his rage. There wasn’t anything he could do but vow the kid would never set foot in this mall again.
He went back to his office.
The phone rang, but Karanzen knew who it was before he even picked up the receiver.
“He has the full power o
n the third element,” the voice on the phone said to him. “How are you going to keep him from obtaining the fourth?” It was Seth Bach, Dion’s uncle. The man didn’t have to introduce himself. By now, Karanzen was familiar with the sound of his employer’s voice.
“First of all” Karanzen said. “I am going to keep him out of the mall parking lot. He won’t even be able to enter it. The first time any of my men see that van of his, they will be instructed to block it from the entrance. I’ll tell the local cops that there is a shoplifting suspect whom we expect to try to gain entrance to the mall. They can handle him from there on out.”
“Not a good idea,” the voice responded. “I don’t need the trouble with the local police it would cause. They only put up with this mall because of the tax revenue it brings into the community.”
“Fine. You told me to keep him out and I might’ve been able to do that yesterday. However, your plan to get him in here with those water babies didn’t work out so well. Now let me do it my way and we’ll keep him out of the mall. Permanently.”
“Your method to stop him yesterday didn’t work out so well either.”
“By then, he was already in the mall. He had the third elemental power. You want me to keep him from the fourth, let me handle it. Let me do what you pay me to do.”
“Just keep him out. He obtains full power for the fourth, we might as well forget about this place.” The phone call came to an end.
The easy way to do this, Karanzen knew, was to issue an APB to the police and have them pick the kid up. Eventually, he’d give up and quit trying to get inside the mall. Why Dion had to meet the elemental grandmasters here inside the mall was something Karanzen didn’t understand. Wouldn’t it have been just as easy to follow them home? Heck, Dion could have simply called them up and agreed to meet them somewhere else. If there was a rule about obtaining full powers only at the mall, Karanzen hadn’t been informed.