The Elementals (19 page)

           
"Ugh, High Karate," she questioned in dumbstruck awe as the door closed.

           
Marissa giggled. "He adores Bryne, tries to be like him, and it looks like he thought that Bryne had a lot of girlfriends. Because of his bad boy vibes. Erick, hmmm, he had his eyes on you, Era. He really liked you."

           
"He was..." Era didn't finish the sentence. There wasn't any need to, it was clear as day on her face that those feelings weren't returned.

           
Bryne had gone, and they went to the small hallway peeping into the open door to their left. It was dark, but they could see the figure of
Bryan
kneeling by a mattress on the floor. A woman laid it in, short and curly silver hair. She held her grandson's hand.

           
"They're beautiful."

           
Bryne chuckled. "You can come in."

           
They looked to each other for a second, and did as he said, standing right inside the rectangle shaped room. There were poles crossing the sides, shelves lining the walls. It was a walk-in closet.

           
"We didn't mean to disturb you," Marissa apologized.

           
"You didn't disturb me, dear. I am glad I have the pleasure of meeting you three. I am sorry that I cannot sit up and greet you properly. I'm weak right now. I have been for a good while. You three... Are so beautiful..."

           
"Grandma," Bryne stole her attention. "We have to know what the prophet said.
All
of it."

           
"Water cannot tell you?"

           
"She doesn't know
everything
."

           
She sighed, a rattling breath. "Right then….
'There will be a gathering of four, each a representation of the elements. Together, they will be stronger than anything we have ever seen. Together, they cannot be broken. Together, they will be known as the Elementals. Together, they will be. There can only be one solution to break them apart once they are joined. That is to kill the one who can encompass all, that is to kill, Earth. There is only one solution for the good of kind. For Water, Air, and Fire to give up their powers so Earth may thrive and rule. That is the way it is to be.'"

           
Terra sat down, her back against one of the lower shelves. Her head was spinning. After all that time, thinking they knew the prophecy, what was to be. All that hope they held, it had all been a lie. Even thinking of the danger they were in was a lie, for Bryne had been taking the abuse all of his life, carrying guilt that wasn't his to carry.

           
Marissa whimpered, "Aunt Gwen lied to us?"

           
Era patted Terra's head. "I guess... She thought it would be best. She wanted to give us hope. Speaking of her... Marissa, can you call her and tell her what's happened? It's better than her seeing the damage when she returns home - or the field now."

           
Marissa nodded numbly and left the closet. The grandmother began speaking again, clenching Bryne's hand with all the strength she seemed to possess.

           
“You must put all your power into your stone and give it to her. She must take it within herself. This must happen or all is lost.”

           
Terra combed her fingers through her hair, tugging gently. "No... I can't. I can't leave my sisters vulnerable to Hadrian. I can't leave Bryne vulnerable. I won't do it."

           
"You must."

           
"I won't."

           
"We will all perish."

           
"What about my family?"

           
"We are your family. You have to do this for them."

           
Bryne went to Terra; on his knees he took her shoulders in his grip. "If this is the way it has to be, then it has to happen. You'll be doing this for us, Terra. He'll keep coming after us if we don't."

           
"I'm the one that was meant to kill him all along..."

           
"Don't think I don't hate that."

           
She tried to laugh but it came out weak.

           
"I told you you were special."

           
"You never told me that, Bryne."

           
"I didn't? Sorry, flower child, I meant to."

           
Terra inhaled shakily. "I'm not ready for this. It's too soon. I can't beat him on my own."

           
Bryan
squeezed her gently. "You can and you will. You are meant for this. You wouldn't be assigned to something that was impossible."

           
"It's not about it being impossible. You can easily fail if it's set too far out of your reach. It's
possible
to fail."

           
"I won't believe that it's possible for you." He touched his stringed gemstone. "Will you please take mine? I never wanted this power, anyway."

           
"No..."

           
"I can give you a day, Terra, but not longer than that."

           
"I'll settle for that," Terra agreed knowing that there was no other way out of it.

           
Era disentangled her fingers from her hair, smoothing it over. "You won't be alone, little sister. You'll have us, powers or not. Don't forget that we are freaks. We can manipulate small amounts of energy. We won't be useless."

           
Marissa came in then placing her tiny cell phone back in her pocket. "She said something about insurance and staying with the nearby Kin." She shrugged. "I told her we have a place." Marissa glimpsed worriedly at Bryne and his grandmother. "We do, don't we?"

           
"Of course," the grandmother rasped. "We'd love to have you."

           
There was a great grievance that came over Marissa. "What's wrong? Terra, you're... Very upset. What's wrong?"

           
"You don't have to worry about anything anymore, Issa. I'll be handling our future."

           
"I doubt that. We'd never let you do this alone." Marissa stated.

           
Terra smiled, and gave a tremendous thanks to whoever Fate's boss was, for it put the four of them together. She was the luckiest person, doomed or not.

           
And so, their path changed and the journey continued.

Choice... It was a fascinating concept. It was hard to believe. In their defense they lived in a world with magic, elements, prophecies and extra powers..

           
At night they each took turns with the bathroom, the water noticeably colder each time. Terra came out with soapy hair, her eyes stinging. Bryne and Marissa heartily laughed when they saw suds in her hair. She didn't think it was
that
funny. When Bryne went outside for his nightly cigarette, things got more serious.

           
Marissa gathered Terra and Era close, whispering low, her eyes casting to the window to make sure Bryan didn’t see them talking. There were just the curls of the smoke that floated past and up. "I have this odd feeling... I think Bryne's grandmother knows who the prophet is."

           
Terra's heart leapt. "Really? Who?"
           
Her visage came under irritation.” I don't know, I can't feel her, it's like... She's blocked from us. But if we ask his grandmother, do you think she'll tell us who it is? It's worth a try, right?"
           
"Of course it is," Terra could hardly contain her excitement. "Maybe we'll get more answers. She knew more of the prophecy, so this could reveal other things."

           
Era nodded, "tomorrow, when she wakes. Thanks for telling us, Marissa. You've come a long way."

           
Marissa beamed in self indulgence. It had been too long that she kept her gut feelings and visions to herself. It must have been a euphoric high to let it go and be herself. Of course, it was just like Marissa to keep things to herself because she was afraid of what it would mean for other people if they were to know, even her own family.

           
With only one set of clothes they had to wear their jeans and shirts to bed. In Era's case, her skirt and blouse. They were badly wrinkled and smelled of smoke, but it went on the top of their list in the morning to buy a few articles of clothing.

           
With only one room they had no choice but to pile up together on the fold - out couch. The mattress was lumpy, it was crowded, but in comparison to not having a place at all, it served well. They all laid on their sides, Marissa at the end, held on by Era, her arm looped over her waist, her extra thick ear buds in place making her temporarily deaf. Terra slept at the other end, Bryne facing her, his arm around her waist.

           
They observed one another as her sisters fell into a sweet and peaceful slumber. Marissa kicked and jostled them, but it was as though she hadn't, it didn't break their gaze. They were awkwardly close. She saw the one wild hair in his brow, the dark green around his pupils. They were hazel, not brown like she had originally thought. He was... More lovely than she had thought. He was warm; she had gone without the one blanket they had and she didn't miss it.

           
"You can say it, you know," he whispered.

           
"Say what?"

           
"That you're scared. I know you are."

           
"Did Marissa tell you that?"

           
"No."

           
She ran her finger over his brow, attempting to put that stray hair in its place. "I'm scared."

           
"I can't promise that nothing bad will happen to you, but I can promise that I will do everything in my powers to keep you safe, including your sisters."

           
"Our sisters," Terra corrected softly.

           
"You see me as your brother, Terra?"

           
Her brother... It would have been easy to say that she had never thought that fire would have been a girl. It never occurred to any of them, as they had all been girls. Why wouldn't the last one be as well? She realized that her silence had turned into a pregnant pause.

           
"Well, isn't this fricken great. We're like the damn screwed up Brady Bunch. If all of those brats had been orphans..."

           
"I don't think of you as a brother, Bryne," she reassured truthfully. "Do you think something like this was meant to happen? I mean... We never thought that the last element would be a boy."

           
"You think this is meant to be a romance story?"
Bryan
asked.