Elemental Rush (Elemental 0.5) (11 page)

“You’re sure?” Davison asked. He’d cleared his conference room upon my arrival, and then demanded to know how I knew Alex was a woman. I’d told him of sneaking into her quarters.

“Absolutely sure,” I said. “She has a vest she wears to make her shoulders wider and to cover her chest. It’s impossible to see under her clothes.”

Davison sighed like my confirmation of Alex’s womanhood caused him great pain. “I do not want to start a war,” he said. “But she’s nearly destroyed the Elemental educational system in our country. She almost destroyed the school here, and it still hasn’t reopened.” He stood and paced to the window, where he looked across the expanse of the city. “To my knowledge, there are only four schools left, and I believe they won’t be operational much longer. She is systematically removing the opportunity for Elementals to train and advance their skills.”

“But sir,” I said. “Why? Why is she doing that?”

“I don’t know,” he said more to the glass than to me. “I wish I did. At the same time, it doesn’t matter. She cannot be allowed to eradicate the way our government functions. We need trained and talented Elementals in order for our city-states to operate.”

“Maybe she wishes to be queen,” I suggested.

“The thought has crossed my mind,” he said, turning back. He took a deep breath, which seemed to buoy him up. “Which is why I’ve spent every moment these past few months finding out the heart of each Councilman in each city across the Territories.” A tight smile formed on his face. “Secretly, of course. Everyone agrees with me. Something must be done to stop Alex. So Mr. Gillman, are you with us?”

“Of course,” I answered quickly. “I still have much to learn about my Element.”
And politics. And running a city. And being a Councilmember.
But I kept those things to myself.

“This will take some time,” Davison said. “And when the moment is right, we will strike Tarpulin and evict Alex from her Supremist position.”

I swallowed. “Do you think we can, sir?”

“I hope so,” he said, sounding tired now. “It’s never been done in the two hundred years since the Manifestation, but there’s a first time for everything.”

Only a week later, I was training with my old instructor in the orchards. I’d just sent a particularly powerful cyclone into the sky. He said, “Take a break, Adam. You’re doing great.”

I retired to the edge of the orchards, where I could see into the broad expanse of land surrounding Gregorio. I liked watching the wind wave through the prairie grasses and listening to the air currents sing as they streamed above the earth.

In the distance, my eye caught movement. I stood, trying to make out what the black dots on the horizon were. In my heart, I already knew. “Sentries,” I whispered. When the hum of a vehicle met my ears, my suspicions were confirmed. Only sentries on a mission could use motorized transportation.

“Mont!” I called to my instructor. Several seconds passed before he joined me. I pointed into the wilderness. “Sentries. Tell Davison, would you? I’m going to sneak out there and see who they are.”

Mont clapped me on the shoulder. “Be careful. Heroes can die too.” He turned, created a cushion of air, and soared toward the city. I copied him, but I aimed myself toward the black ants marching in two neat rows.

I positioned myself ahead of them by a few miles, which gave me enough time to find a hiding spot. My plan was to watch and wait—a lesson I’d learned well over the years.

My stealth was rewarded as the first sentries passed the low brush where I’d concealed myself. I could see them, but I didn’t recognize anyone. Their thoughts roamed from hunger, to concerns over the northern winter—which had been particularly nasty thus far—to what they might find in Newton.

I kept my anxiety contained. Newton was one of the last cities to house an Elemental school. I felt certain that if these sentries were allowed to reach their destination, Newton wouldn’t have a school for much longer.

“…Felix will know,” a man said, and I jerked my attention back to the line of sentries. “We keep moving,” he continued. “We don’t stop until Quail Run.”

“If only we all had a hovercraft,” one grumbled, and I knew where I’d find my brother. Of course he wouldn’t walk all the way to the Unmanifested village of Quail Run. Not if there was a heated vehicle available.

I waited until the sentry squad had gone another two miles. Then I sailed back to Gregorio to alert Davison of their mission.

“We need to go now,” I insisted. It had been two days since I’d spotted the sentries on the prairie. “They could be there any day.”

Davison spared me a withered look. “Newton is a two-week journey from here.”

“On foot,” I argued. “And Felix had a hovercraft.”

“These things take time to plan,” he said. “I had Airmaster Jones send Councilman Sumpsion a message. He has assured us that they are ready for an attack.”

I accepted his answer, but my skin itched. I needed to go, follow Felix, and soon.

“Requesting permission to leave ahead of the defense party, sir,” I said. That got Davison’s attention.

“Mr. Gillman, is this personal?” he asked carefully.

I was unsure if an affirmative answer would get me what I wanted. I decided to go with the truth. “Yes, sir. I need to know what my brother is doing. Where he is. And why he’s doing this.”

Davison scrutinized me for a moment. His Unmanifested leaned close to him and whispered something. Finally Davison nodded. “Permission granted.”

I left that night, a backpack stuffed with an extra set of clothes, a blanket, two knives, and enough food to get me to Newton. I’d insisted I didn’t need so much, that I could find birds and rabbits on my own, but the cook didn’t listen.

I wasn’t willing to waste time by walking. I used the air, hoping to get to Newton at the same time as Felix—or faster.

When I’d been flying for five days, I crested the rise to see the city in the distance. That night, I stole over the wall. I could smell something strange, but didn’t pinpoint it as ashes until I encountered the ten acres where the Elemental school used to stand.

Dawn found me
still at the gravesite of the school. The fire had obviously taken place months ago, as the ash mingled with the most recent snowfall. Something hard formed in my gut, something like a vow to find out what had happened and who had been responsible—and then doing everything in my power to make them pay.

I headed to the main street, where breakfasters were out in full force. I joined the line for the pastry bar, and casually asked what had happened to the school.

The woman in front of me glanced at me warily. “Are you new here?”

“Yes,” I answered honestly. “I just arrived last night.”

She scanned me, thinking through how much she should tell me, or if I was trustworthy.
He doesn’t look like a sentry
, she mused.
Not like that brute who came through town last night
.

I wondered if Felix was here right now, and what he was doing. “I’m just here for a few days,” I said, hoping to gain her confidence. “I’m visiting my brother and his family before returning to Crylon.”

I knew the city-state of Crylon was a three-day walk to the southeast. A city completely surrounded by forests, it had been built on top of a hill and therefore had no walls or fences. Nature’s boundaries—and their Councilman’s strict rules for segregation of information—kept the people contained.

“The Supremist came last September,” the woman said, finally deciding to trust me. “He brought with him new educational policies, and when the headmaster as the school didn’t follow through, Pederson torched the place.”

My mouth opened in shock. “New policies?” I hadn’t heard of any new educational policies. Of course, I’d left as summer had come to a close, just a week before September began.

“He’s been making new rules left and right,” the woman told me. “If someone doesn’t comply….” She trailed off, and her meaning was clear. Anyone who didn’t obey was killed.

“Were there any Elemental survivors?” I asked.

“Several,” she said. “Councilman Sumpsion sent them to the school in Crylon.”

Strong relief streamed through me. “Thank you,” I said, stepping out of line because I no longer felt hungry.

“Sure,” she called. “Are you looking for a school? Because the only school left, as I understand it, is in Crylon. There was a sentry from Tarpulin here last night. He said all the schools had been closed.”

I waved to her, thinking
Closed? More like destroyed.
I forced myself to walk to the edge of the city before composing an air message for Airmaster Jones. “I have just learned that all schools except the one in Crylon have been destroyed.” I sent the current away and only had to wait an hour before it returned.

“Davison has received rumors that the Supremist can control all four Elements. In order to plan an attack, he’s gathering the willing Councilmen to Gregorio. Have you found Felix?” The air carried the voice of Airmaster Jones.

All four Elements?
ran through my mind. I had seen Alex throw fire—plenty of times. I’d also seen her bury the Elemental Academy. It wasn’t a far stretch for me to believe she could do exactly as Davison suspected.

I sent a quick message back to Jones that I didn’t know where Felix was. Part of me wanted to run to Crylon and enroll in their Airmaster training. I couldn’t stand the thought of not having a school to attend.

Four days later, I found Felix in the Unmanifested village of Forrester. I’d abandoned my airmaking Element in favor of my sentry tracking skills, seemingly unable to be both an Airmaster and a sentry.

He drank too much in the tavern and lost all the coins in his pockets when the men started playing cards. He stumbled to the loft in a farmer’s house and slept until noon the next day. I hid in the shadows, stealing food from trash bins and climbing trees during the day to stay off the radar.

I couldn’t be seen by anyone, lest they come across Felix and be intimidated into confessing they knew I was here. The best thing about Forrester was it’s close proximity to the Outcast settlement. After several days of trying to rest against the hard bark of a tree, I made sure Felix was snoring and then I lifted myself over the wall and sprinted into the forest to the west of Forrester.

The Outcasts had kept their settlement hidden, unwilling to endure the endless pilfering of their gifts. Chief Tavar had told me he preferred his life inside his own settlement, even if there were walls and fences. He protected his settlement with his own brand of magic, and no one could cross the border without being invited in.

I wandered through the woods, unsure of where the barrier was, or how to obtain permission to enter. After a couple of hours, I sat down on the ground and traced patterns in the snow. It was there that Hanai found me.

“You’re back,” he said, a smile in his voice.

I jumped up and shook his hand. “For a bit. I’m tracking my brother, but all he does is drink, play cards, and then sleep until the afternoon. I’m bored.” I returned his smile, and he led me through the trees.

“So you thought you’d loiter outside our settlement,” he joked. “You know, you could’ve just come in. My father has cleared you.”