Children of the Elementi (19 page)

Adramelech’s looked around with glee as he dropped the material from the boy's clothing. He was here. Finally here! Still, he looked at the humans beside him with caution. It would not do to underestimate them. They could still defeat him if they worked together. There must be a way of separating them.

So this was the famous Citadel. He looked out of the tower window at the fish swimming by and shivered. There was too much water here for his liking.

Jake strode in, hands deep within his pockets when he noticed Adramelech’s shiver.

“Are you OK?”

“Fine. I was just thinking about all the water.”

“Yeah, it is a bit creepy, but it does protect us. I suppose being the fire element it must really freak you out.”

Adramelech agreed with the young human.

“Is it just you three here?” Adramelech casually asked.

“No, my friend Karl is here too. I was just going to go looking for him but I think he’s gone exploring. This place is huge. It’s probably safer for him to be out of the way anyway.”

“Does he have any power?”

“No, he’s just a friend from back home.” Jake laughed. “He followed us when we teleported here.”

“Mirim has lived here her whole life, and she will show you your rooms. It’s getting late.” Kiera interjected as they climbed the stairs.

“I was hoping I wasn’t going to stay here too long.”

“I know how you feel. I was only coming here for the day.” Jake chuckled. “Anyway, I’m going to look for Karl for a while then I’m going to sleep. I figure he can look after himself though.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: PRISON

The next morning Kiera burst into Jake’s room, Adramelech followed closely behind.

“Mirim’s gone!”

“Wha-a-”

“Mirim’s gone. She went to the castle again, but she never came back. It’s been an hour. She said she was only going to be gone a couple of minutes!”

“Mirim can look after herself.” Jake groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

“Jake, she’s been gone an hour!”

“All right, Ok, I’m coming. That girl is nothing but trouble.”

Moments later, Jake was up and connected to the Matrix. The crystal mind greeted him, becoming more intelligent as the seconds passed. Its thoughts joined with Jake’s as they swirled in crystal vortex. It would be easy to lose himself he realized. He thought of Mirim and the Matrix thoughts rippled with color as it recognized the image.

“Send me to Mirim.” asked Jake.

The room changed instantly. Jake looked around in confusion. This wasn't what he was expecting. It didn’t look right. His mind tried to connect to the white cord of power and the Matrix. It wasn’t there! He whirled around. He was in his body! How, huh?

Mirim was sitting on a low stool, the only other object in the white room staring at him.

“Hello Jake.”

“Where are we?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I went to Naven to see what was happening with Aras and suddenly found myself here.”

Jake paused, looking around the featureless room. There were no windows, just two doors, one in front and one to his right.

“What’s with everything being white here? And have you even tried the doors?”

Mirim only glared at him. Did he think she was an idiot?

“Be my guest.”

Jake shrugged. Mirim had been here for an hour. Why was she just sitting there? Why wasn’t she trying to escape? Aras knew the location of the Citadel, Kiera, Karl and Adra would not be safe. They couldn’t possibly hold the stronghold with only two powers against Magi magic.

He strode to the door and paused for a moment before opening it. He looked back at Mirim, but she just challenged him with that same glare. Fine, if that was how she wanted to play it!

He yanked the door open. A pale yellow mist billowed out from the frame. He coughed before it settled into a dense cloud inside the doorframe. He looked at Mirim. He tentatively moved his hand through the mist and brought it sharply back. His hand was still there. He stood taller and puffed his chest out. They had to get out of here! Taking a small gulp of air, he went back a couple of steps and held his breath as he ran forward through the door.

He expected to feel a twinge as he passed through the air but felt nothing. He let his breath go in disappointment. The room was the same. The same two doors, although on different walls. Mirim stepped into the room behind him.

“Tried the door, Jake?” She raised one ironic eyebrow.

Jake scowled, “How many rooms have you been in?”

“About twenty. I only stopped at the last one because it had a stool. There wasn’t any furniture in the other rooms I tried.”

“Where are we?”

“I think we’re in the Matrix.”

“Why?”

“The yellow mist. It’s like the air power. No one but the Matrix or an air power could create that.”

Jake’s eyebrows knitted together as he thought this through.

“Why would the Matrix trap us here?”

“Maybe it thought it was doing us a favor? I was in Aras’ castle, and you followed me. We must have been in danger.”

“O-k-a-y, but why wouldn’t the Matrix communicate with us?”

Mirim went quiet for a moment before continuing, “Maybe it can’t because we are in its mind rather than being part of it.”

“Woah. Hang on a minute. You are telling me the Matrix thought we were in danger and so yanked us out of Aras” castle and teleported us with our bodies to inside its mind?’

“Do you have a better theory?”

Jake snorted. “My gerbil would have a better theory than that!”

“Since you’re so intelligent, you find a way out!” She stormed back through the door they’d come through.

Jake started after her and shrugged again. What was with this girl? She may be older but she always gave up far too easy. He took a step forward to join her but changed his mind. It made more sense to explore this place. Mirim wasn’t going to find a way out - it was up to him.

Meanwhile in the Citadel, Adramelech stood alone in the main control room. Kiera had gone to look at the hydroponics level and would be gone for at least an hour more. He could barely hold in his glee.
This was it! This was all that I have been working for.
The power of his natural form was nothing compared to the power he could wield with the Citadel.

He almost laughed as he considered how easy it was to trick those idiot children into thinking he was one of them. Just one measly flame and they believed he was the Fire King. Idiots. As he walked to the crystals that made fire, the floor jerked. Adramelech righted himself but was thrown off balance by another jerk. His head turned towards one of the windows. The Citadel was rising!

No matter, with single-minded determination, Adramelech moved forward to reach the console. With a triumphal roar he touched the red crystals. The power would be his! He grasped the biggest crystals, expecting a rush of energy. He paused. There was nothing. Confused he stared down at them. Tentatively he pushed some of his power on to the crystal - it glowed for a second absorbing the power but still nothing. He moved closer and pushed more power through. The crystals glowed again for a moment more but still no reciprocal power answered his call.

The truth flashed in his mind. You had to be human to connect. His frustration grew. It was not enough to possess an element, there had to be the combination. Of course, that was why the Magi could not use this power. He glared at the crystals, and his eyes glowed red with anger.

Adramelech heard a sound behind him and turned, Kiera was standing by the door staring at him.

“What are you doing? Did you feel tha-a-?” her voice trailed off as she saw Adramelech’s face. His grasp of his human form began to fail as he became angrier. Flames licked his face as his hair became fire. Where his eyes once were, red pits of flame lingered. Kiera screamed.

Jake was getting worried. He’d walked through about ten rooms now and he was getting nowhere. At the eleventh room, he found Mirim again, sat on the same small stool.

“Are you OK?” Her voice was softer than before. She got up to draw closer to him. She’d made her point but Jake wasn’t ready yet to give in. She put her hand on his arm and a jolt of electricity arced between them. They both jumped back in surprise.

“What was that?” Jake exclaimed.

“We’re getting stronger.” Mirim’s hazel eyes were sad. “If we can’t get out it won’t help us.”

“We can’t give up. There has to be a way out. We have to at least try.” Jake grabbed Mirim’s hands. “Come on.”

She nodded and let him lead her to the next room.

“Is that it?” Aras asked as he entered Ecu’s laboratory.

“Yes, Sire.” Ecu held up the large white crystal in the palm of his hand. “This prison has hundreds of refracted rooms. They won’t even know they are in a prison. They could walk around for years and never get out. With no food or water their bodies will wither in a week.”

Aras nodded. It was a fitting death. He looked down at his own emaciated form. The living death he had been suffering for weeks would now be Malo’s fate. He grinned. He was feeling better already. Whatever power the boy was using was trapped within the prison and would not be able to affect him. Without two powers the Citadel was easy pickings.

Adramelech grunted and dove for Kiera. He flew across the control room with one bound. As he jumped he lost all semblance of humanity in a burst of fire. He caught her, careful not to burn his prize, and dragged her to the control room. If he couldn’t use the crystals he could control someone who could!

“STOP!”

Adramelech twisted at the sound of the voice and growled. The vivid reds of the flames turned blue as he recognized the speaker. Dani stood before him, one of the villagers from beside the volcano. Adramelech reached out and met the answering tinge of the fire element. So this was the Fire King. Oh, but he was weak.

“I said stop.”

“What do you want, human?”

“Leave her alone! It’s me you want. I am the Fire King.”

Adramelech paused and turned again to look at the interloper. Instinctively he scanned the human’s body and laughed. This was the Fire King? The red tell-tale thread of power was clear to see - but it was no match for a Deoc.

“Leave while you still can. What are you going to do about it, little human?”

Dani moved forward and held out his hand with the red crystal prominent. “I will defeat you, foul demon.”

Adramelech laughed.

“Can’t you come up with anything more original than that?” Adramelech sneered. He almost felt sorry the boy would die too quickly.

In the crystal prison, Jake entered another room, this time the mist was red and he frowned. The mist was different in each doorway but four colors of the elements had been there, white was missing. His mind mulled this over as he went from room to room. The electric shocks from Mirim jarring him as they accidentally brushed past each other.

“We’re not in the Matrix,” he suddenly said.

“We have to be.”

“What color has been missing?”

Mirim’s gaze turned thoughtful.

“White? There is no white mist.”

“This isn’t the Matrix. Instead, it’s like the colors have separated like a prism. This has to be some sort of prison... and if it is a crystal we should be able to get out of it. After all, we get our powers from crystal.”

“How?”

“The electric shocks.” He thought aloud. “We can combine our powers and get out.” He turned his excited face to hers. “Take my hand.”

They joined hands and felt their energy moving from one to the other building in intensity. Sparks began to fly off them. Mirim let go.

“You have to trust me, Mirim.”

Mirim looked at the younger boy. Why couldn’t she trust him? She was annoyed at him, yes, but that didn’t explain it. She analyzed her feelings. She didn’t like being told what to do. That was it. No one had told her what to do before, at least not since her mother died but here was the next High-King. No, he
was
the High-King, he deserved her fealty and trust.

Jake saw the conflicted feelings flit across her face. He tentatively took hold of her hand again. She let him. The air temperature became warm, cold, and finally very hot. The energy was painful as it coursed between them. Mirim cried out. Jake shouted for her to hold on. The sound of broken glass surrounded them and they were free. Their astral selves hovered over an old man. In front of him was a shattered crystal. There was fear in his eyes.

Jake sensed Mirim next to him and connected to the Matrix. Something was wrong back at the Citadel. They looked at the old man once more before they raced back.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: STAND OFF

Aras sat in the throne room, brooding. He could feel his power slowly slipping away. Adramelech was no longer under his control and his fleeting telepathic ability told him that something was going on with Ecu and Marta. He felt under siege on all sides.

If that wasn’t enough, the boy was getting stronger by the day and he had escaped! The boy had to die. The pain was unbearable again. The thought of staying in bed for days because of it again was too much. The only way to cope was to leave his body for hours at a time. He couldn’t live that way. The tablets Ecu gave him kept the pain at a tolerable level but at other times... He couldn’t continue like this. His body was emaciated, he couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. The lack of exercise was making him even more tired. He had to stop the Elementi before they destroyed him utterly.

A low bell sounded through the door to the throne room. Aras got up pressing his fingertips to his forehead. The room emptied, leaving only his generals.

Talik, his head of staff spoke, “All your ships are mobilized your majesty.
Fortune
is ready for you. The senior Magi Council have agreed to equip her with mages. We only need your orders now sir.”

“You have the coordinates I gave you?”

“Yes sir, it will take us a day to get there.”

“We must waste no time. You are dismissed.” The generals began to leave the room.