by Tricia Barr
“The Celtic sorcerers who bound the original humans founded a brotherhood to keep an eye on the elements, to keep everything in balance, and called it the Four Corners.” He moved the fingers of his free hand over the pin on his shirt. “Dexter Mauldive, our Grand Master, convinced the High Council that it was time to put the elements back under our control, and that it would be best to put all four elements into only one vessel, making it easier to relocate them after each rebirth. He has volunteered to be the first.”
“Just how do you plan to do this?” Skylar asked.
“We have realized that we can’t just kill you, because then the elements would immediately be reborn somewhere else and we would lose them once more. Our best researchers have said that the elements must be in a sort of limbo state in order to be manipulated and placed inside a new host.”
Phoenyx swallowed hard. “Limbo state? How will you accomplish that?”
“There is currently a massive solar storm happening. In three days a very rare, very large solar flare is forecasted to explode. Our researchers say the radiation and electro-magnetism this will release will both heighten the powers of all four elements and weaken their hold to your bodies. On that day, the four of you will undergo a series of electrocution which will further weaken that hold enough for the spell to work. In order to break down your bodies even more in preparation for the ritual, we were going to starve you. This is the last time you will be fed.”
Phoenyx’s heart pounded wildly and the hand she grasped him with was trembling and dripping cold sweat. Holy shit, this was so much worse than anything she could have imagined in her head. The prospect of being killed was already bad enough but to find out that they were going to be starved an electrocuted? This was a goddamn nightmare!
She sensed Lily was crying. Like hell she was going to let this happen to them!
“What’s your name?” she asked, her steady voice disguising the panic and anger she felt.
“Lucas,” he answered. She noted to herself how creepy it was that, even as he told them about all the horrible things that his cult planned for them, he still gawked at her like a horny gorilla.
“Lucas, you have to bring us that key and get us out of here,” she commanded, pushing her will into him with everything she had. “At all costs but be discreet about it. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” he said, almost like a moan of pleasure.
She released his arm. “Now go, and hurry!”
He nodded eagerly, moved the last brown paper bags closer to the cells, and left the room.
Now that he was gone, the room was dead silent, except for the loud banging of Phoenyx’s heart. No one spoke for a very long moment. Finally a sniffle escaped from Lily. Phoenyx instinctively turned and put her arms around Lily, inviting Lily to stop holding it in and her tears soaked into Phoenyx’s already quite dirty shirt. Phoenyx had no words to comfort her with this time. If Lucas didn’t come back to free them, they would die.
“This is bullshit,” Sebastian said finally. “These people are fucking psychos!”
“That may be,” Skylar said. “I saw it in his mind; they all believe it down to their core. They live it and breathe it. The question is, do we believe it?”
“Hell no!” Sebastian said. “Who the hell could believe that anyone could actually imprison the elements, like they were actual beings? This isn’t ancient Greece; it’s 2016 I don’t even believe in God but I’ll believe in him long before I swallow any of that nonsense.”
“I don’t know,” Skylar said. “It can’t just be a coincidence that we all have these powers. It’s not every day that four people, born at the exact same time, all have Marvel-esque super powers.”
“So, what you’re trying to tell me is that you actually believe the four of us are Earth, Air, Fire, and Water? You’ve been in this damn cell for too long.”
That uneasy feeling was growing and scratching at her insides, making her queasy. Lily had stopped crying and listened to them argue. Phoenyx only held her tighter, herself wanting to be held as she felt like she might jump out of her skin.
Skylar, who was about to say something, paused mid-breath and looked at Phoenyx, and she knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing she had kept herself from thinking for six years, the thing she always suspected in the back of her mind but never wanted to face.
“Phoenyx, your dream,” he said softly, his brow creasing up in apology and pity. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
The feeling erupted inside her, icy cold fear flooding her veins as if the hand of Jack Frost was squeezing her heart.
“What?” Sebastian asked, wanting to be let in on the secret.
“That’s why it was so hot last night,” Skylar continued. “You were making it happen and didn’t even know it.”
Her breaths came faster and faster, without her consent. Jack Frost’s hands were closing in around her neck, making it harder to breathe. She could barely hear the fretful voices of those around her as she hyperventilated. Memories from that night flashed in her mind. The fire in the kitchen. The anger she had felt right before. The explosion. The way her hand didn’t burn.
“Calm down!” Sebastian urged Phoenyx, as he pressed up against the other side of the bars, reaching out to her.
Lily rubbed her back desperately, then she grabbed one of the empty paper bags and handed it to her.
“Put this over your mouth and breathe into it,” Lily instructed. “Try to calm down.”
Phoenyx did as she said, panting repeatedly into the bag.
“What’s happening?” Sebastian whimpered. “Why is she freaking out? What did you do to her?”
“I’m sorry, Phoenyx,” Skylar said, calm and yet pleading at the same time. “I’m sorry but we have to face all our demons if we’re going to get out of here.”
“What demons?” Sebastian demanded, shoving Skylar’s shoulder.
“There is at least some truth to what Lucas said, because compulsion isn’t Phoenyx’s only power,” Skylar explained. “She can also start fires with her mind.”
“No!” Phoenyx screamed, throwing down the paper bag, tears streaming down her face. “No, no, no, it can’t be true!” She buried her face in her hands, wishing desperately that she could hide from everything.
All this time she blamed herself for her father’s death because she knew in her darkest depths that she had started the fire! It never really seemed possible, so it was an easy thing to ignore, to deny, even with her dreaming about it at least once a week for six years. She couldn’t deny it anymore. It was all true! They really were the living embodiments of the elements, the Bound Ones. She was Fire and had killed her father. She was a terrible person.
Soon all she heard was her own hiccupping. Jack Frost’s hands crept up until they covered her eyes, and the world turned upside down. Then all she knew went black.
“Phoenyx, wake up,” a pretty, concerned voice wafted through her unconsciousness. She felt light slaps on her cheeks, and then the blackness dissipated and she was fully conscious again.
She opened her eyes to see three distressful faces looking down on her.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked, pulling Phoenyx up to sit.
“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked, his hand sneaking through the bars to rub her arm.
The blackness had taken none of the pain or the guilt with it and the panic quickly returned.
Tears streamed from her eyes, a dam over-flooded with unrestrainable emotions. “I killed him,” she sobbed, her voice cracking and her face wrinkling. “It’s all my fault. He was only trying to protect me, to be a good dad and I killed him. I’m a horrible person. It should have been me!”
No one spoke as she broke into a heavier sob. She didn’t care to look up at their faces. It didn’t matter what opinion her confession wrought in them, because no one could judge her as harshly as she was judging herself. “I never wanted to believe it, but…what Skylar said is true. I can start fires with my mind. Or at least I did o
nce. I…” She half-hiccupped, half-sniffled. “I killed my father!” The sob took over and her shoulders shook.
“Oh, sweetie,” Lily crooned, rubbing Phoenyx’s back comfortingly.
Phoenyx could hardly feel the touch. She was so deep inside herself, in a place where nothing felt good.
“You didn’t kill him,” Skylar said. “You may have unknowingly started the fire but his death was an accident. You have to know that’s true.”
“If I hadn’t lost control, if I hadn’t gotten so angry that the fire sparked, my dad would still be alive!” She wept. “Whether or not I intentionally killed him, it’s still my fault he’s dead!”
Sebastian reached in further and took her chin in his hand. He gently turned her face toward him.
“Do you really think your dad would blame you?” he asked. “If he’s up there somewhere watching down on you, do you think he could actually blame his only daughter for an accident that ended his life?”
“God, I hope not,” she cried.
“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Sebastian said. “You can’t beat yourself up about it your whole life. All you can do is learn from this and move on. Don’t you think that’s what your dad would want for you?”
She nodded. She sucked in through her nose as hard as she could and wiped her eyes. Then the knowledge that all their lives were in imminent danger came back to her. They couldn’t afford for her to get caught up in her remorse right now. She had to get it together, for them. She had to bury these feelings, at least until the time came when she could deal with them in private. That was one thing with which she had lots of practice.
“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” she managed to say convincingly. She swallowed hard, forcing her feelings back down with it. “We have more important things to deal with. Now that we’ve established that I’m a freak firestarter, that means the legend is true to some extent. They chose right with me, and seeing as you all have powers, too, I’m guessing they weren’t wrong about you three, as well. So…which of the elements do you all think you are?”
It was clear on all of their faces that no one wanted to abandon their concern for her, that none of them were convinced she was okay but they did slowly give in to ponder the question she posed.
“Air, Water, and Earth are left,” Sebastian mused. “I know it’s probably too soon to joke about but I’m a little disappointed that Fire is already taken.”
Phoenyx mustered up a fake smile for him. He returned one, and she saw his compassion for her in his eyes. How could he still like her after what he just learned? His affections were completely undeserved.
“Maybe our powers have something to do with which element we are,” Sebastian said. “The core of Phoenyx’s ability to control people’s will is rooted in sensuality, right? Doesn’t fire have something to do with sex and sensuality? People always say things like passion burns. Fire is unpredictable and wild, just like lust can be.”
“That’s a good point,” Skylar said. “I think you’ve got something there. So then, what do our powers say about us?”
“Well, I see a connection right away,” Lily said. “With you, Skylar. You are telepathic and telekinetic. Everything about what you can do deals with the air. Thoughts are a frequency, frequencies move through the air. Moving objects with your mind—isn’t that manipulating air in order to move things?”
“Wow, that’s…an amazing observation,” he said with a look of revelation on his face. “I think you’re absolutely right.”
“Lily’s ability to heal,” Sebastian said, looking like he just had a eureka moment. “Earth is always referred to as Mother Nature, and isn’t Mother Nature supposed to be nurturing and healing?”
“She loves to garden,” Phoenyx interjected. “She told me, before you guys were brought in, that she was in the garden club at her school. Didn’t you say your nickname was Green Thumb?”
“Actually, I…I do have a knack for growing things,” Lily admitted. “My ability to heal isn’t limited to people and animals. It works on plants too. I can accelerate their growth. I can make a flower go from a seed to a blossom in minutes.”
Of course Lily would be Earth. She was sweet as a garden in spring. She was selfless and loving and friendly, and yet so frail, a flower requiring the utmost care. She was the best of all of them. And Phoenyx believed she was the worst.
She felt Skylar’s hand on hers then. She looked up at his face. He shook his head, and his gray eyes were full of sincerity. She appreciated the gesture but it didn’t change how she felt. Thank you, she thought, and then she did what Sebastian said he did—she visualized a bubble all around herself, so tight and thick, to close her mind off to him. She saw the change in his face, so slight, so subtle, as was everything else about him. He nodded, patted the top of her hand gently, then pulled his hand back through the bars.
“Well then, that leaves Water,” Sebastian said. “I’m Water?” The words turned into a question as he spoke them.
“Come to think of it, your illusions have always had a ripple look to them—when they fade anyway,” Skylar said. “You’ve always loved water. You’d swim all day everyday if you could.”
“Oh yeah, didn’t you tell me you were the youngest kid on the swim team before you left school?” Phoenyx recounted. “It would make sense if you were Water.”
“Sure, I love swimming and playing in water, but that’s just the kid in me,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “What do illusions have anything to do with water?”
“That’s simple,” Lily said. “Think about reflections. Water reflects and even changes images.”
“Yeah, like mirages,” Phoenyx added. “Mirages can make people see all sorts of illusions. Water can be tricky.”
“That’s definitely Sebastian,” Skylar said. “Tricky.”
“Water is also adaptive,” Phoenyx said. “It’s kinda like Bruce Lee’s famous saying. ‘When you pour water into a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle.’ From what I know of you, whatever situation or environment you are put in, you mold yourself to fit into it and best it.”
“She quotes Bruce Lee,” Sebastian said, looking at his lap and shaking his head. “Let’s say I am Water.” He rolled his eyes at the last word. “All three of you can manipulate your supposed element: Phoenyx starts fires, Skylar moves things through thin air, Lily makes plants grow. I have never manipulated water.”
“Actually, that’s not true,” Skylar said, pointing at Sebastian with his index finger. “There have been countless times that I’ve seen you stay under water for longer than is normal. I think your record is thirty minutes. That must be because you are manipulating the water to stay submerged longer, and you don’t even realize you’re doing it.”
“Thirty minutes?” Lily asked. “He’s right. That’s not humanly possible. Most people tap out at three minutes, a tenth of your time.”
“Really?” Sebastian asked. “I guess I never really thought about it. It’s always just been natural to me to stay under that long.” He fiddled with his fingers on his lap. “I still think this whole thing is ludicrous. I refuse to believe that thousands of years ago, a band of cracked out wizards trapped the most basic laws of nature in human form. I mean, it’s just fucking bonkers. Hell, what’s next? Are you going to tell me the Tooth Fairy is real? That unicorns and mermaids exist? That there really is a jolly old fat man named Santa Claus who travels the entire world in one night, delivering presents to good little boys and girls? If that’s true, that bastard owes me ten years of presents.”
“It doesn’t matter if the story is true or not,” Skylar said. “The fact is, we do indeed have the powers they say we do, for whatever reason that may be. Regardless of the reality of spells and rituals and ancient spirits, these people are going to kill us. I don’t imagine they expect us to walk away from being stripped of these elements.”
“Our only hope is that Lucas returns quickly with the key,” Phoenyx said. “Before the effe
ct of my compulsion wears off.”
“How long does it usually last?” Skylar asked.
“I put every ounce of will and force I had into the order I gave him,” she said. Maybe a little too much, for she barely had enough left to compose herself after her harsh realization moments ago. The void of pushing out all her willpower left her vulnerable. What horrible timing!
“Depending on the purpose and the effort I put in, the effect can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes to a few hours. This one will be on the latter end of the spectrum for sure but it’s not an exact science. I can’t predict a definitive time frame.”
“We’ll just have to hope it’s enough,” Skylar said.
“Now I guess we just wait,” Sebastian said.
Another long, echoing silent pause began. It was hard to tell anymore how long anything was. Every second filled with silence crept by slower than molasses dripping down a tree on a cold day. Phoenyx couldn’t bear this. She couldn’t bear the loneliness of the silence. It invited all her horrors to come to the surface, to whisper in her ears terrible truths she didn’t want to hear.
“Ugh, I can’t stand all this waiting around!” she grunted. “I hate just sitting here waiting for someone to come, waiting for our fate to be decided, waiting for food that stopped coming. I hate when everyone is quiet and no one is talking. Most of all, I hate this God forsaken room!”
“We all do,” Lily said.
“So, can we please just talk, about anything?” Phoenyx beseeched the others.
“I can do you one better than that,” Sebastian said.
Before Phoenyx could ask what he meant, the cement floor on which she sat softened and went from dull gray to bright yellow-brown, turning into sand. The sand spread and radiated from underneath her to cover the entire floor of the room. The iron bars that separated and confined them disappeared slowly from bottom to top. At the center of the ceiling, the cement cracked and crumbled into oblivion, revealing glorious, vibrant blue sky behind it, until all the cement of the ceiling and walls disintegrated and opened up to a lively and spacious beach.