The Lightning Conjurer

by Rachel Rener

  “Stop it, Lucas! You’ll kill yourself!” I shouted.

  “I’d rather die than lose to you!” he screamed, flinging his arms in front of him. The tornado tore forward, knocking him and everyone around him to the ground.

  I instinctively flung my creation into the air, where it expanded into a coruscating net whose silvery brilliance illuminated the entire forest. The moment the cyclone struck the nameless Element, it exploded into a shower of platinum sparks that wrenched the storm apart, leaving its liberated Elements to disappear into the night. In the tempest’s wake, a silvery mist settled upon the ravaged land, glittering faintly beneath the pale light of the moon.

  A defeated howl tore through Lucas’s lips as I stared at my own hands in amazement. What was that?

  Aiden’s hand gently squeezed my shoulder, bringing my attention back to the rest of the clearing, where much of the fighting had stopped… mostly because everyone was gaping at me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I surveyed the broken terrain that surrounded us on all sides, my heart breaking at the sight of dozens of bodies littering the ground, some of whom I recognized. My throat hitched as my gaze fell on the crumpled body that my mother and Dr. Shirvani were tending to.

  My hands shot to my mouth. Mei.

  She protected them, my mother’s gentle voice whispered in my ear. I followed her wistful gaze to the van, where Ancients and soldiers were standing side-by-side, watching over a line of captors who were alive but bound, each of them sprawled face-down on the dirt. The Ancients were trying to protect the soldiers as they worked to dismantle the bomb. The attack came out of nowhere, from across the clearing. Before anyone could react, Mei alone took the brunt of it, giving them time to shield themselves and the bomb.

  Teruyuki, who had been tending one of the wounded soldiers, rose to his feet to give me a deep and solemn nod. Then, with one weathered hand clasping the clenched fist of his other, he turned toward Mei and swept into the lowest bow I’d ever seen. The other Ancients followed suit, all paying tribute to her sacrifice. I clenched my fists at my sides, fingernails cutting into the flesh of my palms to control the wave of grief that threatened to overwhelm me.

  “You think I’ve lost,” a hoarse voice called out to me. Not two yards away, Lucas was clutching at his chest, gasping and wheezing. He’d surrounded himself with a flickering shroud of Lightning, and yet he was drawing more and more Electricity from the line of bodies that lay behind him, his once-loyal followers.

  “They’ll be alright,” he croaked, seeing my horrified expression. “They’re with my father now.”

  “Oh, Lucas,” I whispered, my pity for him trumping any remaining hatred.

  As he raised his illuminated arms above his head, Lightning tore from the clouds. It crackled across his entire body, burning away clothing and leaving angry welts across his skin. The light behind his eyes was fading. “I’ll probably kill myself,” he screamed, agony ripping through his voice, “but not before taking all of you with me!”

  My eyes widened in horror.

  “Elohim, please, not again,” Ori groaned, wiping the blood from his bottom lip. “He’s gonna fry everyone here!”

  “Can we stop him?” Sophia asked, drawing Wind and Water from the air.

  Above us, the clouds opened up as though parted by Zeus himself. Jagged forks of Lightning screamed from the sky as they shot toward Lucas, the self-designated human lightning rod. He wouldn’t survive much longer – which meant hundreds of others wouldn’t, either.

  “Aspen,” Eileen hissed, gesturing to the ground beneath him. “He’s standing right on top of sinkhole territory.”

  My heart sank. Not only was she right, but Lucas wouldn’t be able to defend himself from a Terramantic attack. And yet the thought of killing him, even to save so many others, went against everything I stood for, everything I’d devoted my life to.

  Aiden’s warm strong hands encircled my waist, lending me the courage and strength I’d all but depleted.

  A choking, wheezing laugh erupted from Lucas as he flung his arms out, rivers of Lightning coursing through illuminated veins that glowed beneath charred, peeling skin.

  Blinking back tears, I met the feverish, diminishing glow of Lucas’s eyes one last time… and then wrenched the world apart. The terrible scream of a desperate, dying animal tore from his throat as the ground broke open beneath him, sending him tumbling into the yawning, cavernous abyss that I’d ripped open just beneath his feet. Flashes of Lightning ricocheted out of the chasm, but Ori was standing at the ready, deflecting the electricity up and away from the crowd while Sophia created a protective Wind screen to shield them.

  Lucas’s screams diminished into the gnashing maw of the earth until only his agonized echoes remained.

  Gasping with exertion, I used the last of my energy to fuse the walls of the cavern back together, collapsing into Aiden’s arms as my own limbs gave out. With a searing flash of Lightning and a deafening clap of thunder, the fissure slammed shut, sending a violent aftershock rippling across the clearing that Eileen was there to dampen.

  Safe in the arms of the man I loved, I finally succumbed to exhaustion, my eyelids fluttering against the darkness as the sound of uproarious cheers and applause faded to muffled background noise, and then beautiful silence. Just before unconsciousness took hold, a deep, gentle voice whispered in my mind.

  Bravo, my child… Bravo.

  Chapter 35

  dreamed about Savannah.

  But it wasn’t like so many of my previous dreams of her where she’d chased or caught or otherwise tormented me. In this one, she was young and smiling, her face free of scars and heavy makeup. Standing barefoot in a grassy meadow, a pastel dress fluttering about her ankles, she twirled in a slow circle, holding out her arms to soak in the warm rays of the sun, her pale freckles catching in the sunlight. All around her, a waist-high field of sunflowers swayed in a gentle breeze. When she eventually turned her face away from the sky, her emerald eyes immediately found mine. She didn’t speak, but inclined her head in acknowledgment of my presence, the corners of her mouth upturned in a friendly smile. The sun grew brighter, sending golden light washing over the meadow. Eventually, I couldn’t tell where Savannah ended and the light began.

  ***

  I awoke to a hand gently caressing my face.

  “Aiden,” I murmured, smiling as his name passed through my lips.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. “You know, we really need to stop meeting in hospitals like this.”

  “Yeah, we really do.” I hoisted myself up into a sitting position, squinting my eyes against the afternoon sunlight streaming through the hospital window. “Where am I and how long was I out?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. The last time I’d woken up in a hospital bed, I’d been in a coma for two weeks.

  “You’re at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” he replied, stroking loose strands of hair from my face, “and you’ve only been here for about half a day. The National Guard transported you here just before dawn, in an actual Blackhawk helicopter. I got to ride along,” he added, his boyish smile temporarily erasing the fatigue that creased the edges of his eyes.

  My own eyes grew wide as I looked around the room. I was in some sort of fancy suite, large enough to house ten hospital beds. Dozens of floral bouquets lined the walls. “Walter Reed,” I breathed. “Isn’t that the hospital where U.S. presidents go…?”

  Aiden nodded. “The very same. And he’s here right now, along with everyone else, impatiently waiting for you to wake up.”

  A sharp twinge of panic gripped my stomach. “I have no idea how to talk to a president,” I whimpered, gnawing on a broken nail.

  “I’ll help you stall for time,” he winked. “For what it’s worth, he’s far less intimidating than Evelyn… who’s on her way here from the airport, I should add. Your mother and Ted just stepped outside to meet her. And probably mentally prepare her, since her
granddaughter is bruised and battered in the hospital… again.”

  I grimaced, wondering how bad her freak-out would be when she saw me. Probably depends on how bad I look, I sighed, then immediately winced. My throat and lungs burned when I inhaled or exhaled too deeply and my calf was throbbing. Thankfully, when I peered beneath the sheets to inspect my battle scars the scene wasn’t terribly gruesome: substantial bruising, a few gauze-wrapped burns, an assortment of scrapes that peppered my arms and legs, and a not-so-sexy hospital gown to tie it all together – and from the back, no less. All in all, it could have been much worse. Given everything that had happened, I felt far better than I should have.

  I took another careful breath. “So… what have I missed?”

  “Well, first things first,” Aiden smiled, leaning forward to give me a deep kiss that sent fire coursing through my veins. “Welcome back. You had me… really worried, to say the absolute least.”

  “At the hospital?”

  “At the hospital… but also for the five hours we searched for you after you sent your entire security team on a wild goose chase. And then again when you sent me on a one-way trip down a mile-deep crag in the ground.”

  “Oh my God,” I gasped, my hand flying to my face. “I did?”

  He took my bandaged hand in both of his. “It’s okay. When Kumiko called Mei to let her know that she’d tracked down Kaylie, Mei immediately realized she wasn’t with you at Obsidian, and the whole thing had been a farce. So, it was just a matter of backtracking, joining forces with our lesser nemeses, and following the Elements for a few hours,” he smiled, the edges of it not quite meeting his eyes. “And as for you attacking us, it didn’t take us long to realize that Lucas was controlling you. His surviving sycophants were able to confirm that before we hauled them and the rest of the die-hards over to the D.C. Containment Center. What I want to know is… are you okay?”

  “Are you okay?” I retorted belligerently.

  He chuckled. “Totally fine. Just a burn or three. And maybe a few bumps and scrapes from the fall.”

  I felt my eyes fill with tears. “Did I hurt anyone else? How many casualties were there?”

  Aiden brought my hand to his lips, gently kissing my burned knuckles. “You didn’t hurt anyone… I swear,” he added, seeing my incredulous expression. “You unleashed a lot of chaos, but we were able to keep it under control. As for casualties… Obsidian’s lingering extremists did a number on our people. And so did Lucas and his cultists. They used a form of Electromantic manipulation never seen before, so it took your mother and Dr. Shirvani some time to sort it out before we finally were able to take control. It was a miracle that the Wilders arrived when they did. They came from Japan, France, even Polynesia of all places… if it weren’t for them, I don’t think we would have made it out alive, especially if Teruyuki’s people hadn’t seized the bomb.” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know how Savannah managed to convince all of those Wilders to come to our aid. She may have literally saved the world.”

  Savannah. My free hand clenched the fabric at my chest. How had she managed something so incredible all by herself? Something was tugging at my memory… a deep, familiar voice… but the more I tried to remember who or what it was, the harder the memory was to grasp. I let out a heavy sigh, conceding to myself that it was probably just a faded dream.

  “How…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “How many are dead?”

  Aiden’s shoulders drooped just enough to make my heart sink. “Thirty-nine dead, ten of them Obsidian terrorists. Sixteen Wilders. Twelve Asterians. One soldier. Your mother and Ted are fine; so are our friends. They’re helping the hospital staff treat the wounded.”

  “How many—”

  “Just under a hundred. But most of the injuries are mild to moderate, with only two of them being critical. And the doctors informed us that they’ll almost certainly pull through.” He said all of that as quickly as possible, then forced a smile for my benefit. “The hospital has devoted an entire wing to injured Elementalists. All of the nurses and doctors working there were granted emergency top secret clearance so they could treat us. It’s been… surreal.”

  “That’s—” I started, my words cutting off mid-thought as I suddenly remembered something. “Mei,” I whispered, forcing down the lump in my throat. “Is she…?”

  Aiden nodded, his deep brown eyes glassy with emotion. I held back a sob as he reached forward to stroke my hair. “Her quick thinking saved all of us. The Ancients were distracted and outnumbered when the attack came. Without Mei’s sacrifice, the bomb would have almost certainly detonated – killing everyone within five miles instantaneously, and millions more in the coming weeks from radiation poisoning alone…” he trailed off, shaking his head to clear the terrible images.

  “And Kumiko?” I croaked, my chest further constricting with fear. She’d been the former minister’s right-hand attendant for years, gladly risking life and limb to protect her. If Mei was gone, then that meant…

  “She’s alive.”

  “She is?” Relieved tears immediately began to spill down my cheeks, which Aiden lovingly brushed away. “How—"

  “When Mei leapt in front of the attack, she knocked Kumiko away from her and directly into Kaylie’s arms. Kaylie understood that to mean, ‘Don’t let her follow.’ She restrained Kumiko in ways only a Polymancer could and didn’t let her go until she was sure… Well, until the Ancients retrieved Kumiko themselves. They’ve taken her under their wing in the meantime.”

  It took some effort to keep my eyes from bulging out of their sockets. “Kaylie… saved Kumiko’s life?”

  “Against her will, but yes.”

  “Oh my G—where are they now?”

  “Kumiko decided to return to Shirakawa-go with the Ancients where she’ll eventually scatter Mei’s ashes and continue training in the art of Elemental sword fighting. And, crazy as it sounds, Kaylie was also granted Teruyuki’s permission to spend some time in their village. Despite everything, I think he took pity on her. Both women are mourning the loss of their loved ones, but Ori says that Kaylie is really struggling. She perceives yesterday’s events as entirely her fault.”

  “That’s not totally fair,” I frowned. “She said some reckless and hateful things, but I don’t believe she ever meant for people to get hurt.”

  Aiden shrugged. “Whether bloodshed was her intent or not, words have power. They can create and they can destroy. I hope she’ll come to understand that when she eventually returns.”

  The two of us sat in silence for a long moment, gripping each other’s hands tightly before a knock sounded on the door. Dr. Shirvani and another doctor I didn’t recognize entered the room, followed by Ori, Eileen, and Sophia.

  “Aspen!” Eileen shouted, seeing me awake. She and Sophia ran over to give me tentative hugs, each of them sporting various bandages of their own.

  “Hey, little lightning bolt,” Ori smiled at me, ruffling my hair. He was wearing a brace on his wrist and had re-slung his arm but otherwise seemed in one piece.

  “How are you feeling?” Dr. Shirvani asked, picking up a clipboard from the end of my bed while the other doctor looked on, visibly anxious. He wore teal scrubs, which displayed bare, tattoo-free arms; he wasn’t an Elementalist.

  “I’m feeling okay,” I replied. “A little pain in my calf from where I got burned, but my head feels good.”

  “When you first arrived, your EEG was… well, highly unusual,” Dr. Shirvani said. “Whatever that little creep did while he was in there, it was extensive. But we’ve stabilized most of your brain waves through the same Electromantic Transcranial Stimulation methods you and I were working on just last month.”

  “No kidding!” my eyes widened. “You were able to successfully apply the ballast technique?”

  “Indeed,” his eyes twinkled with pride. “And with beautiful results, if I may add. Oh, by the way, this is Dr. Suwannarat. He’s the resident neurologist here and is very interested to learn mor
e about Electromantic brain therapies, a handful of which I was able to demonstrate for him directly.”

  “I-It’s…” Dr. Suwannarat stammered. “Well, it… it’s bringing our wildest dreams – technologies that would otherwise be fifty, sixty years out – to our fingertips. And I…” he swallowed. “I just can’t tell you how fascinated I am. And… truly, incredibly grateful for the opportunity to witness.”

  “And hopefully contribute!” Dr. Shirvani clapped him on the back enthusiastically. “That is, if the minister and president approve.” He winked at me. “Speaking of which, he’s very anxious to meet you, Madam Minister. I hope you won’t mind a small crowd. His Secret Service team insists on accompanying him since you are, you know, a formidable mistress of the five Elements. May I send them in?”

  I could barely manage a nod as the two doctors excused themselves from the room, the door clicking softly behind them. Outside, there appeared to be a bit of a commotion through the frosted glass as the president’s team organized themselves to escort him inside.

  Awestruck, I had to actively work to keep my jaw from falling open as I looked around the room, meeting each of my friend’s smiling forces. “This… this is really happening? We’re finally coming out to the world?”

  “Yes.” Aiden leaned forward to brush a quick kiss across my lips. “Thanks to you, Madam Minister.”

  I shook my head firmly. “I’d be nothing without all of you.” I sucked in a deep, trembling breath. “Will you stay with me? When he comes?”

  “Are you kidding?” Eileen laughed.

  “Of course we’ll stay,” Sophia smiled, settling herself on the window ledge.

  “Like you ever could get us to leave,” Ori added as he casually leaned his elbow on Eileen’s head.

  “Hey, watch it!” she swatted at him while Sophia laughed from her windowsill perch.