Elemental Rush (Elemental 0.5) (9 page)

When the current had safely reached the top floor of the Councilman’s building, I focused on my tasks on the ground.
Clothing. Food. Boots. Shelter.
I ran through the checklist as I walked, being careful to keep my sentry eye out for Felix. I hadn’t been actively acting as a sentry for over a month, but the skills that had been drilled into me didn’t die that easily.

I stole into the dining hall first, but it was too early for food to be out. As I pushed into the preparation area, I realized I hadn’t told Davison who the message was from. How would he know it was me, in a city of hundreds of thousands? I shook my head as a worker approached me.

“What do you need?” He looked to be only eleven or twelve years old. I thought I could simply growl and he’d wet himself.

“Food,” I said. “Enough for a few days. I’ve been asked to travel to…” I stalled, unsure of where I should flee. North, definitely. “Hesterton,” I finally said. It was due west, and several days away. If anyone came asking about a man who needed food, I hoped it would buy me some time to find refuge in a northern city.

The boy cocked his head, as if sensing my lie. “Food for traveling for a few days. Wait here, please.”

Every second he was gone felt like a lifetime. The door opening in the dining hall behind me had me scampering into a corner, away from the kitchen entrance so I could see them before they saw me.

But no one came. Finally, the servant boy returned, lugging a brown paper bag. It contained breads and cheeses, cured ham, and several oranges. I thanked him with as much enthusiasm as one who would be returning to a warm bed, but inside, I hated that I didn’t know where my next resting place would be.

I left the dining hall and turned toward the laundry when the hairs on my neck stood at attention. I spun, expecting to find Felix with his blade drawn. Or worse, Alex with her false vest and fiery eyes.

I didn’t see anyone. No, the sensation came from a tune lilting on the air. A soprano voice that struck terror straight inside my heart. Managing the bag of food the best I could, I took off at a dead sprint toward the school. I knew what I’d find there: a Watermaiden singing her Element into destruction.

I skidded around the corner, and sure enough, found a beautiful girl dressed in the Tarpulin crimson robes, one hand raised in a terrible claw. I recognized her from the field trials in Tarpulin. Her brown hair streamed over her shoulders as rivers fountained from the earth, spewed through windows and doors, drowning the school.

Felix stood nearby, his arms folded as he watched. I shrank back, wanting to stop her but unwilling to let my brother take me to Tarpulin. I felt certain if I returned, it would be the last thing I ever did.

Screams and shouts filtered from the school, and within moments, the Elementals began to fight back. Fire softened the tides, and hot air vaporized the water into meaningless steam. Columns of earth blocked the windows and doors, and still the Watermaiden sang on.

Her voice cut through the earth, outmatched the flames, rose above the air. I felt the sickening truth that she hadn’t even finished warming up yet.

Then two men arrived on-scene. I recognized Davison as he clung to his Airmaster. The Airmaster lowered them both to the ground, where Davison immediately strode forward. His loud voice boomed above the Elemental chaos around him. “Stop this instantly! What right do you have to destroy my school?”

Felix intercepted him before he could reach the Watermaiden and handed him a scroll of parchment. Davison’s sharp eyes read it, then he promptly set the paper on fire. He got right in Felix’s face, growling, “Get out of my city. Tell that joke of a Supremist he has no right to exercise his authority in Gregorio.”

He spun away from my brother, raising his hand as he did, a clear signal for someone. Sure enough, the courtyard swarmed with sentries, each as large and imposing as Felix. Elementals also emerged, each snapping, swirling, or singing to fight off the Watermaiden’s advancing tsunami.

I didn’t wait to see the result. I could sneak away during this mess without drawing any attention to myself. Abandoning the thought of extra clothes and fresh boots, I also abandoned the idea that I could be a real Airmaster one day.

I employed my Element, sure one more air current wouldn’t be noticed amidst everything else happening. I rode the wind out of Gregorio, lamenting the loss of the brief security I’d felt in the city.

I traveled all night, using the stars to navigate. I passed several small villages, some with walls, some with fences, some with only open fields surrounding them. I knew I had to be close to the city-state of Castleton, a decent-sized metropolis with an Elemental school.

I decided to put the wind back in the sky and use my legs to get to Castleton. I didn’t know the political climate quite as well, but I knew the Councilman had been a favorite of Alex’s. It was the ones Felix griped about that Alex didn’t like. I’d learned a lot over the course of the six months, noting that sometimes it was the people that
weren’t
talked about that really mattered.

And Councilman Montgomery had never been on Felix’s gossip roll. I wondered how sympathetic he would be to my plight. I slept while the sun arced through the sky, and I walked all night. By the third night, I thought perhaps my trajectory was off. Had I missed the city completely?

I ventured west for a bit, and after a couple of miles, found the river. I wasn’t that far off course, and a city the size of Castleton should be visible even if I was. At dawn, I kept going, thinking
one more step, one more step
, and I’d find the city sitting on the horizon.

The food I’d obtained in the kitchens of Gregorio was almost gone. I allowed myself to eat the last orange, and then I fell into an exhausted sleep.

That night, I finally saw winking lights in the distance. I quickened my pace, the anxiety I’d been feeling for twenty-four hours fueling my footsteps. I waited through half the day, hoping for a group of travelers, or merchants, or anyone, to approach Castleton. The gates didn’t open. No one went in, and no one came out.

The familiar unease ate at my insides, to the point where I couldn’t eat. That night, the city flamed with fire.

Even as the smoke painted the moon red, I composed a message to the air currents. “The Supremist, Alexander Pederson, is a woman. Her real name is Alexan
dra
Pederson, and she is dangerous to us all. We must unite if we have any hope of overthrowing her. Watch, and wait, for more instructions.”

I didn’t sign the message, hoping each Councilman would take it seriously. I sent multiple currents in every direction, sending them to Elemental and Unmanifested cities and villages.

I had no idea what further instructions I might give the politicians, but I knew I needed to do
some
thing. Not just for my own safety and survival, but the continuation of our country, our way of life.

She’d buried one school, tried to drown another, and now it appeared that the school in Castleton had been reduced to ashes. I didn’t hear a single Watermaiden try to quench the flames. Alex—or Felix—had arrived before me, shut down the city, and torched it. Someone had to do something to fight back.

I thought of Davison and his unafraid nature. He’d marched right up to Felix. He’d asked his sentries and Elementals to defend themselves. I wanted to do that too, and not just for myself.

By morning, I’d received a dozen responses. Every message was from a Councilman willing and waiting to hear more.

I didn’t hear
from Davison, and I knew he was the one who could really lead a rebellion. I figured he was probably still dealing with the aftermath of chaos in his own city, but I couldn’t simply wait outside the dormant wall of Castleton. I had barely a day’s worth of food remaining, and as I set my feet northward, I struggled to remember my geography lessons.

I’d never had occasion to travel this far from Tarpulin, and my geography classes were complete by age ten, when I was deemed worthy to learn how to throw knives. Somehow, working out and killing people had come before the physical location of cities in the northern half of the United Territories.

I skirted by the villages I came across, only daring to venture into them if the night was dark and deep. I found a few scraps in trashcans, but nothing of substance. I avoided the cities completely, fearing Felix, Alex, or the other sentries had beaten me to them, turned the Councilman against me, and were about to destroy the Elemental schools just so I couldn’t enroll.

Minutes became hours which became days. I slept. I walked. I ate anything I could find. It was never enough. Never enough rest. Never enough miles covered. Never enough to eat.

On top of that, I feared I’d gone in circles, though I never passed anything familiar. The terrain became more rugged, the landscape rockier with dense patches of evergreen trees, aspens, and maples. I trudged on through the forests blanketing the earth. There was surprisingly little to eat in the trees. I resorted to sucking on leaves and coaching myself to keep going.

Mental strength was important, I knew. If I believed I would survive, I could. By day nine, though, I was beginning to doubt. My vision blurred. I’d given up walking only at night. The sparseness of cities and villages this far north didn’t present the same threat.

The fall sun felt cooler here, but it was still harsh and blinding, even through the trees. My mouth felt sticky. It had been too long since I’d last had a drink. I couldn’t even remember when that was. I tripped over something I didn’t see and fell to the ground. I struggled to get up again, but my body would not cooperate. I rolled onto my back, looking up into dappled sunlight.

My chest heaved, my mind felt soft, my eyes wouldn’t open. I drifted into the sea of unconsciousness.