True North

by S.M. Winter

permanent sanctuary,” he yawned and stretched, then leaned back while keeping his feet in the water. “The gift of their life force was enough of a boost to move the island into the stratosphere where it’s relatively easy to be kept afloat. We orbit the earth, like the moon. Even though the Elementals didn’t know the specific science on where to move the island to make it easy to be kept afloat the Elements knew, so when they were asked the Elements complied the best they knew how. This all came at great cost to the Elementals that asked. So it’s actually a very small drain on us to keep it afloat.”

  “What happens when one, or all, of the Elementals die?” I wanted to know.

  “The Elements can maintain the drift alone,” he replied. “But not for long.”

  “If all the Elementals die at once,” I wondered aloud. “How do they find out about their calling?”

  “That hasn’t happened in a long time,” he yawned again. “But the legend says that the Elements can take human form for forty-eight hours before its life source is depleted and something really bad happens. The myths and legends surrounding the Elements are varied and scattered. Some say they are the Titans from Roman and Greek mythology. Some say they are the faeries and dryads of the forest, rivers, and fires of Ireland. I prefer that one, of course.”

  Alexandar chuckled to himself, then sat up.

  “Alright,” he stood and held out a hand to me. “Time to feed the body and regroup with the others.”

  Once dry, we changed into clean clothes and walked into the dining room. I could feel the new comradery between us and I enjoyed it. Though I only plied him with inane mechanical questions he seemed to be more relaxed than I’d seen him. I kept sneaking looks at him to see if the angry boy would return. It was only a matter of time, but decided not to ask.

  We sat down at what seemed to be our assigned seats and ate. As soon as I sat, my stomach rumbled and I ate everything on my plate in what seemed like moments. I sat back and groaned.

  “Feel better?” Valerie asked as she and Chauncy sat down.

  “Much,” I chuckled. “I’m not sure I’ve eaten much since I’ve gotten here.”

  “Anything?” Alexandar looked down the table at the two of them.

  “Nothing,” Chauncy shook his head.

  “That means trouble,” Alexandar nodded. “Remind me to punch you later.”

  Chauncy just chuckled.

  “It could just mean they’re retreating,” Valerie suggested.

  “To what end?” Alexandar wanted to know. “You know they never rest, especially after they took one of ours.”

  The frown was back, I sighed inwardly.

  “They must be planning something big,” Alexandar looked at me. “Tell us the whole story about your choice.”

  I frowned back at him but complied. I told them about the man that pushed me, time stopping, and the dandelion.

  “They found her first?” Chauncy seemed shocked. “Before she’d even chosen?”

  “Yes.” Alexandar nodded.

  “How is that possible?” Valerie wanted to know. “We don’t even have that capability.”

  “I don’t know,” Alexandar replied. “But I think I have an idea. Let’s go to the library.”

  “Ok,” Chauncy nodded and stood. “But Alexandar, does the Dandelion mean what I think it means?”

  “I think so.” At Alexandar’s response, both Valerie and Chauncy seemed to get excited.

  “What does it mean?” I asked.

  “The Time Warden,” Valerie responded, as if that was an answer to my question.

  They left as one and I struggled to catch up.

  “Wait,” I said. “Who is the Time Warden?”

  “According to everything we’ve read,” Chauncy replied over his shoulder as we all walked toward the library, “He’s the Fifth Elemental. Much revered and the least seen. No one knows why.”

  “Hmm,” I said absently as I processed that while we entered the library, with its seemingly endless stacks of books and still charming entryway.

  Turning right immediately rather than moving toward the giant rolodex, they all walked to a panel of books just inside. Right away I could tell these were painted on. Alexandar pushed it lightly and the panel swung open easily to reveal a round room with an oval table and four high backed wooden chairs. The backs rose tall and ended in a point that resembled each of our elements. Chauncy took the fire chair, Valerie to the water chair and Alexandar took the earth chair. This left the final chair for me, air.

  “Close the door behind you,” Alexandar waved his hand absently.

  The regal command had the hair on the back of my neck rising in irritation. I complied but I was unhappy about it. As soon as the door was closed I sat in my chair. Chauncy and Alexandar occupied the points of the oval and Valerie smiled at me from across the table.

  Alexandar stood and grabbed a book from the walls, which were lined floor to ceiling with shelves. Mainly books covered them, but there were also some Knick-Knacks here and there and of course, a fire place. I made a mental note to ask about the servants later. I had yet to see anyone clear a table or stoke a fire, but this place was so large and there were so many secret passages I could have easily missed them.

  “Moira and I came across this in our studies,” he said. “We thought to use it, but we hadn’t had the chance to puzzle it out.”

  He brought the book over and laid it out on the table.

  “It’s a tool that the Elementals can create to track Potentials,” he said. “But it takes an infusion of all five Elements so we thought it was bunk.”

  “Until now,” Chauncy said and Alexandar nodded.

  “Until now,” Alexandar repeated.

  “But how did they get a device like this?” Valerie asked. “We obviously didn’t infuse anything.”

  “No clue,” Alexandar said. “But this is the only reason I can think that they could be getting to potentials before us.”

  “How long has it been happening?” I asked.

  “No telling, really,” Chauncy replied.

  “I don’t remember an Agent attacking me before I was Chosen,” Valerie replied. “But you and Moira were chosen before me. So you remember anything like that?”

  “No,” Alexandar frowned thoughtfully. “But we were in a war zone that day, so it would have been difficult to discern.”

  “Warzone?” I latched onto that word.

  “Not important right now,” Alexandar waved it away.

  “But...” I began.

  “We just assumed they were tracking us,” Chauncy interrupted smoothly.

  “But maybe they just hadn’t gotten the hang of the device yet,” Alexandar said.

  “How many potentials do you think they ended before they even got to choose?” Valerie asked.

  “That might be unlikely,” Chauncy said. “Because technically they are a potential Agent as well.”

  “A potential Agent?” I asked.

  “The same as we are Chosen, so are they,” Valerie said. “But they choose differently.”

  “It takes a specific type of person to choose life for selfless reasons,” said Chauncy. “Rather than selfish or self-serving reasons.”

  “Or death,” Alexandar put in.

  “Or death,” Chauncy nodded. “Technically if you sacrifice yourself to save the many.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Backup. Are you telling me that even if you choose life, you could still become an Agent of the Void?”

  “Yes,” Valerie nodded. “If you choose your life at the expense of another living being’s would be a reason.”

  “As a guardian,” Alexandar said gravely. “You can still become an Agent of the Void if there is a vacancy and you make a different choice later down the road. We aren’t paragons, Tabitha. We are still human. We still need to choose Life every day for the right reasons.”

  “Has that ever happened before?” I asked.

  The room got very quiet. Even the fire in the hearth seemed to hold its bre
ath.

  “Yes,” Alexandar said, his face unusually devoid of emotion.

  I looked around the table but the others seemed to be busy looking at the book still open on the table.

  “Ok,” I said, but before I could ask further I was interrupted again.

  “So what are we going to do about it?” Valerie asked.

  “Well we need to address something first,” Alexandar jumped on the topic change. “Tabitha has family we need to protect.”

  “Alright,” Chauncy stood up. “Let’s saddle up.”

  They all stood and filed out the hidden door before I could get a word in edgewise. I sighed and rose to follow in their footsteps.

  I struggled to keep up with them as they took their twists and turns. It was glaringly obvious that they knew their way around this labyrinth and I was still new here. When they all suddenly stopped I nearly ran into Alexandar. They spread out in a line with a person sized break. I stepped in to fill that hole and looked to see what was ahead of me.

  A doorframe stood before me, containing a knob-less door with an intricate compass carved into its wood. The N indicating North pointed to the top of the frame, where a beautifully crafted oak tree seemed to grow up the wall. The Eastern point held a picture of stormy seas, with waves that looked so realistic I could swear they moved when I didn’t stare directly at them. The Southern point held flames that licked at the sides of the compass, tracing their way to the frame surrounding it. Finally, the Western point had swirls that closed the gap between Earth and Fire. It fed directly into the waves unbreaking across from it. The time it must have taken to craft something so amazing was nearly unimaginable.

  “What is it?” I asked, awed.

  “Our gateway