Children of the Elementi (15 page)

Barefoot, Sori walked into the water. He beckoned for Shenella to join him. Taking off her silk shoes she left them out of reach of the water on the beach and picked up her skirts. Cautiously she picked her way over the sand, avoiding small stones and sharp shells until she was ankle deep in salt-water standing beside him.

“It’s difficult for me to explain,” Sori began. “Our people can live under the sea instinctively. We don’t have to think about it, we just do it. We can breathe underwater because we have gills under our arms. We also produce a small electrical charge that we can extend a few millimeters away from our bodies. That keeps our clothes dry, if we wish.”

“To be able to breathe underwater you will need to metamorphose your body to have the gills. That’s what the old royalty used to do.” Sori pulled one side of his shirt up showing her what they looked like.

Shenella took out her crystal. Taking comfort from Sori’s small smile of encouragement, she concentrated on the jewel. Nothing happened. Frustrated she glanced up again at Sori.

“Have patience Shenella, I would have been surprised if you got it straight away. Concentrate on the crystal and imagine the gills on your skin.”

She concentrated on its depths again. This time there were answering lights swirling like currents in the sea. She suddenly understood what she had to do. She needed to believe that she had gills - that she would be able to breathe underwater - to trust in the power.

Moving away from Sori, she walked deeper out and lay down until the water covered every part of her. Moments later her lungs burned as her body fought for breath, she refused to breathe through her nose and mouth. Her eyes closed in concentration. With that, it happened. Her skin felt as though it was tearing as gills formed under her arms. The pain lasted only for a moment before they opened and suddenly she could breathe. She twirled in the water, enjoying the feel of the current against her face.

Startled, she unexpectedly heard a voice in her mind.

‘
That wasn’t so hard was it
?’

How was this possible? In the murky water, she couldn’t see Sori but she knew he was close.

‘
Come on we need to go further in. It will take you a while to get used to the gloom.
’

‘
How are we talking?
’ she asked.

‘
Mind to mind. There is no other way of talking in the ocean. If you tried talking with your mouth it would soon fill with water.
’ She could hear his laughter in her mind.

Bristling, she followed the direction of his thought-speech. After a while, she could see clearer. Schools of glittering fish swam alongside them for a few moments before they were replaced by another of a different color. They were surrounded by life. ‘
They know who you are Shenella; they can feel the old power in you.
’

Tucked safely in her shirt she could feel the crystal glowing gently against her skin in response. This was where her power was coming from. The life around her was somehow charging her crystal. She could feel it. She closed her eyes, sensing them with her mind.

There were millions of minds all around her, pinpoints of energy going for hundreds if not thousands of miles around. The sheer expanse of the sea astounded her. She never dreamed of such an amazing place.

Mechanically she swam, using the crystal’s power to ease the way, trailing behind Sori’s mental pattern through the ocean. It seemed like hours to Shenella before they were near the city. After the first few minutes in the ocean, she closed her eyes. Sori chided her but she insisted on keeping them closed. What she could see was too confusing against her mental image. The sea was too immense to take in all at once. It was easier to concentrate on Sori with only one sense.

Effortlessly she kept pace with him, the energy around her buoying her own and it was her power that let her know when they were nearing the city of the Merpeople.

Opening her eyes, she gasped. Sori must have sent a message ahead to let the Merpeople know they were coming. They were drifting at the bottom of a deep canyon. Steep rocks walls rose on each side creating a highway beneath them. Either side were caves carved in the hard rock. People stood in doorways and windows curiously watching their arrival. The water felt warmer here she realized. They must be near some natural hot springs.

A small reception committee stood near the end of the canyon. Sori and Shenella changed direction to swim towards them.

‘
What is everyone wearing
?’ Shenella asked Sori. Instead of the clothes worn at court that she was used to, they wore short or tight-fitting outfits. They were all green and made of some strange material she had not seen before.

‘
They weave them from sea grass.
’ he replied. ‘
If you’d had your eyes open you would have seen the meadows just past the island!
’

As they neared the small group of people, Shenella grew more and more nervous. Sensing her distress, Sori took hold of her hand and squeezed it.

‘
It’s all right; the one at the front is my father, the Kinar, our king. The rest are all his advisers. They are elected by the people.
’

The Kinar stepped forward.

‘
Welcome to our city, my lady. My name is Chero and these are my advisers.
’ He pointed to the surrounding men and women.

‘
You must be tired. Sori will take you to the old Water King’s apartments here. I trust you will find them comfortable.
’

Sori tapped her on the shoulder and pointed up the cliff face. The apartments were at the top. Baffled she kicked her legs and allowed him to escort her up.

‘
They don’t waste time with words do they?
’

‘
My father hates unnecessary chatter. He is a very serious man. Don’t worry, not everyone is like him. I’m not.
’ Sori let go of her hand and pushed open a curtain of sea grass at the entrance.

As they stepped over the threshold her eyes widened in amazement. Evidence of sea grass was everywhere, from the bed and bedding to the curtains against the small window beside them. Seeing light in the far corner, she went to explore. There was a small corridor leading to a sitting room with plants on opposite walls. Each plant gave off a soft green or blue light creating a soothing ambience. It was beautiful.

Half-floating, half-walking towards the bedroom she saw Sori had turned on a light in there also. As she neared she was surprised to find a purple snail in a glass bowl. Its shell was a luminous royal purple merging into orange on the outer circle of its shell. Its glow was enough to light the whole room.

‘
Is it all right?
’ she asked.

‘
Of course, if you want it to go dark just cover the bowl with this. You must remember to put food in there every day or they don’t last long.
’ He handed her a cloth.

‘
Thank you, Sori - for everything.
’

‘
My Lady, it was a pleasure and if you need anything, just let me know. I will pick you up for breakfast in the morning. Sweet dreams, my queen.
’ He smiled, touched her cheek, and floated out.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CITADEL

As soon as the light faded, Mirim broke away from the circle and dove through the doorway to the control room. Bemused, Kiera and Jake followed as she frantically swung her crystal back and forth over the glowing colored consoles. The white, green and yellow crystals were all glowing but to her evident surprise so was the blue. Frowning, she moved nearer. She was right. The Water Queen had never left Eleria.

As she stood back to take it in, the red panel began to glow a soft red. Jake and Kiera behind her joined her with questioning eyes. “They’ve all been used,” she answered. “Earth, Fire, Air and Water - every element is activated. The red is not as bright which suggests Dinar was able to use his power without the crystal, so it was enough for the Matrix to pick up but no more. This is proof that all the families still exist and we can defeat the Magi!”

“Who are the Magi?” A voice unfamiliar to Mirim asked. She whirled, a boy she had never seen before stood in the doorway.

“Wha-a, Wh-o-o” her chin jerked back in surprise.

“Karl! How did you get here?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know, I followed you into some light.”

Mirim looked at Jake and the other boy and made the connection.

“Wonderful, a Terran. He’ll only get in the way.”

Jake ignored Mirim, “Karl, it’s great to see you but you have to go back. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Where is here?” Karl asked his cool grey eyes taking in the bare white walls and the control crystals in the center of the room. He walked over to get a better look. Mirim sidled in front of him to block his way.

“We are in Eleria and you shouldn’t be here.”

“Well, if Jake is here I’m staying.”

Jake grinned at his friend. “You know I want you here but it is too dangerous. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Well,” Mirim interjected. They both looked at her.

“You can’t go home.”

“What! You told us we could!”

“I’m sorry I lied. Well, I didn’t exactly lie but when I left to go to Earth I knew there was enough power for two trips at the most. I used so much power finding you and teleporting to Kiera that it used up all the power that we had. It will take a couple of months to produce enough power to go back.”

“Great!” Jake threw his hands up in the air.

“I’m sorry, but the fate of the world is far more important than just getting back to your boring life.”

“Not to me!”

Mirim looked at Jake’s furious face for a moment before concentrating on the console again, choosing to ignore what he said. She stepped across to the blue crystals.

“The water element.” She held her crystal closer. “It was used quite recently.” Mirim frowned, losing herself in the complex information she was analyzing. “Here! She used it here!” Jake and Kiera jumped at her outburst.

“Sorry, I mean it was used above ground. A few miles to the east are the islands. I think they are where Jersey is in your world. It shows the power was used there... but I can’t trace her now. She must be either on or under water. Power protects its own. All I can say is that she is near where the Merpeople live. If she is by water she is safe from Aras for now.”

“What about Karl?” Jake demanded.

“There’s nothing we can do - just look at the white crystals!”

Jake threw an apologetic glance at Karl as he crossed over to the white crystals in the center.

“These are my crystals?”

Mirim took a mental step back. She had lived here her whole life. It was strange to think of the crystals belonging to anyone but herself.

“I suppose so.”

Jake reluctantly pulled his own crystal out. “Can you show me how to use this? Maybe I can track the fire element? You told me the white crystals are connected to the rest. It makes sense that maybe I can help?”

Mirim exhaled a long slow breath. It was worth a go. Shey would be all right but they didn’t know about Dinar. On impulse she tried to enter Jake’s mind. It would be quicker to show him than tell him. Her thoughts sought his. Jake instinctively raised his barriers as he recognized the feather-light touch of her mind. She sought a way around. He would be stronger than her, the others presence would be adding to his power. His barriers were strong she had to give him that.

Unaware of the struggle, Kiera made as if to say something to Jake but changed her mind. It was enough to distract him. Mirim broke through his barriers and placed the false memory in - showing him how to use his crystal to track the fire element. Jake blinked and glared at her.

“Shouldn’t you ask before you do that?”

Mirim blushed with embarrassment. Caught out in front of the others with one of the most basic rules of the Elementi, She’d spent too long on her own.

Jake was surprised to find connecting to the Matrix wasn’t like earlier. Before it was more like requesting the information, now he was going to have to fully integrate with it.

Armed with the new knowledge, Jake took the plunge. Holding out his crystal, he held his awareness out towards the white crystals before him. He floated there bodiless for a moment and the Matrix grabbed him. His mind swirled in crystal. There were memories here, thousands of them. Lives of men and women going back hundreds of years swamped his senses, he struggled against the tide. Jake tried to orient himself, to become the dominant mind. However, it was too strong. He let go of his sense of self to become part of the pattern.

He saw the planet of Eleria as an organic computer. The planet’s surface was a huge motherboard, a base for the Matrix symbiotic mind. Each individual crystal contributed to its memory. The minds of himself, Kiera, Mirim and almost everyone on the world provided the processing power. He was amazed at how everything was connected. Energy was coming from everywhere, from the natural volcanoes, to the plant life in the sea, from the tides to the winds - it all contributed. He saw the Matrix would endure forever but for one thing; it needed at least one of the Elementi to give it the spark of life.

His... no, their memories now spanned thousands of years to the first meeting of minds. He recalled the first day, the surprise at the first flicker of consciousness. There had been nothing and all of a sudden it had a mind - it could think.

Jake recalled the touch of the first alien minds as they fused with the Matrix mind. He felt their relief at finding a compatible uninhabited world and the fear that they may be too late. He found out that his people had come from a different dimension. It was Earth! Before arriving here, they had lived beside a volcano for centuries using it as a means of powering their city. Their civilization had become incredibly advanced but so dependent on their location that they moved their entire city across dimensions to escape its destruction.

In clear images he saw the first explorers arrive in a cave off one of the islands. They had used it as a base of operations, living there in a makeshift camp for a couple of years while they analyzed the planet.