Gathering Water (15 page)

January 15
th
, 1969

Dear Journal,

Poor Anise has been in her room for the past three days, crying. L Neale has enlisted in the army. We’ve both heard of all the lives lost in Vietnam, and Anise is nearly inconsolable at the thought of L being over there. As callous as it seems, I’m not terribly worried that he will lose his life. He has his abilities, after all, and has been trained for warfare against the Clades and they are an enemy far worse than any human could hope to be. Mark is furious with his son, as he only found out on the day of L’s final examination, and he was sent to basic training the following day! I’m quite disappointed in him, as well; we have our own fight to worry about and must remain vigilante always. T has been by to check on my daughter, and has brought her a few letters from his brother. She, however, has refused to read any of them since he has “chosen death over love”. The boy neglected to tell even her of his plans for the future, and I fear my daughter’s heart will never heal from it.

“Crap,” Cash said, walking over to the kitchen island and taking a seat on one of the bar stools there.

“Why do they want
me
there?”

“We already told you that the future family-heads are tested by the Elfennol,” Cash said. Duh, me. I knew that Llewellyn had been a Deare, and the head of the family, with Mark leading the Neale family in their generation. I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out on my own, that
I
was the only female Deare. Hell, I was the only Deare left with the name.

I sat on the stool next to Cash. “Well, other than my being an idiot, why is this such a surprise to everyone else?”

“They usually give an entire month to prepare. They’ve given us less than a day this time around. I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean, I’ve never heard of its happening before. And they were very specific about having you there, Della. I have a feeling that they will come and collect you if you don’t show up.”

“Is there any reason why I shouldn’t go?”

“No. Again, we knew that you’d have to go eventually. But they’ve never been so urgent about it. Something about it just doesn’t feel right.”

“So if it doesn’t feel right, are we still going?” Cash asked.

“I don’t see any reason
not
to go. They aren’t our enemies. It’s just very curious. Now we’ve got a lot of things to go over before tomorrow, so why don’t we get started? Ellis, you don’t have to stay for this.”

“Great. I need to make some phone calls to Europe, see if they’ve been getting strange activity there as well.” Then my aunt gave her husband a kiss and walked towards the office where she started making phone calls. To Europe.

“Is she talking about Clades? They have Clades in Europe?” I asked, horrified by the thought.

“Yeah, it’s a worldwide epidemic,” Cash said dryly, and I fought not to smile at his words since I knew it was a serious matter.

“First, Della,” Connor continued, “I want to apologize for my father this morning. I didn’t know he was coming over. I know that you aren’t interested in a relationship with him, but…”

“But what?”

“But he’s going to be there tomorrow. At the testing. Even though he’s stepped down, he still plays an important role in this fight. I need you to understand that, at least.”

“So no fighting in front of the Elfennol.” I said, frowning.

“Yes, no fighting. Now, both of you will be tested together. That’s pretty normal. Gabby and I weren’t tested at the same time, but my parents were since they were closer to the same age. I didn’t expect you two to be called at the same time, but I’m not very surprised since there’s not even three years between you two.”

“Where will we be meeting them tomorrow?” I asked.

“I forget how little you know. We’ll be going to one of their outposts. It’s about thirty miles south-east of here.”

“They have their own island? How do they hide it from satellites?”

“They don’t. It’s not an island. The base is underwater in a top secret location, like in a spy movie.” Cash cocked his finger like a gun and pulled out his best phony British accent, “The names Neale, Cash Neale.” Gotta love Cash’s enthusiasm.

“Be serious. How would we get there?” But looking at my uncle’s nodding head proved that Cash wasn’t lying. “What? But, how… Is there a submarine, or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll be swimming there,” Connor told me.

“I can’t swim thirty miles!” Yeah, I was the ridiculous one, with my cousin aiming his finger-gun and my uncle talking about swimming thirty miles as if it were a jog in the park. I never tired out while swimming, but thirty miles seemed pretty extreme. And it was in the ocean. What if a shark got us? I crossed my arms and glared at my absurd relatives.

“Della, you forget what you are. You could swim much farther than that without getting tired. You’ve been practicing Gathering while using the energy, right?” I nodded my head. “Well, if you know how to do that then you won’t have a problem. How about you, Cash?”

“I’ve got it, Dad.”

“Good. Now, neither of you have met an Elfennol before. They look like us, but they aren’t human. You must keep that in the forefront of your minds. Most of them don’t spend a lot of time around humans, and they tend to be very literal. So, no smart mouth sarcasm, Cash. They also can tell if we lie by our auras. So no lying, Cash.”

“Jeez, dad, I’ll behave.” My cousin interrupted, both hands raised up in defense.

Uncle Connor just lowered his head and shook it, “The Elfennol are ruled by a council of three, which are the heads of the three main families, and they will be the ones testing you. Everyone there is affiliated to the three families, so be respectful. Now, not everyone there thinks that being allied with us is necessary. It is. But please don’t give them any reason to doubt our family. Don’t give them a reason to doubt humanity.

“The members of the Council are Derek, Richard, and Etta. Derek is the one most at ease around us, and his family reflects his attitude. He’s the youngest on the Council, has the dark-blonde hair. Richard is bulkier and a little shorter than Derek. He’s the oldest, but you can’t tell except that he has white hair. Etta’s the only woman on the council. Watch out for her. She’s the one who will probably push you the furthest during your testing; she put me through the ringer when I was your age.”

“Is she the one who doesn’t think we should be allies?” I asked.

“No, no one on the council has that opinion, right now. But Etta will change her mind about us if she ever doubts our ability to hold up our end. Her family has always been like that, from what my father said. So, she pushes us further to see what it will take for us to break, to find our limit so to speak. It’s actually very wise of her, but she isn’t very nice about it.” He looked at me, ”Della, you’ll have a tougher time since they’ll sense that you’re a little different. Just be prepared. That goes for both of you, actually. This is just so unusual, we all need to stay on our toes.”

“What else do we need to know? What happens during the testing?” I felt so unprepared. I
was
so unprepared.

“I can really only tell you about my own experience, but they started off with having me complete some tasks. Lift a rock, Shield an attack, that type of thing. Gabby’s testing was similar, though her tasks were different. And remember, this is supposed to
test
you. They want to find your breaking point. That means it will be hard. Don’t get upset with yourself if you can’t complete something. I’m pretty sure they’re watching your reactions to failure just as much as everything else. After I was pretty worn out from that, they started asking me questions. Some didn’t seem all that relevant, and others seemed way too personal. I think they were just getting a feel for my reactions.”

I raised my hand to ask a question. “Why is this necessary, again? Cash said that they don’t actually have any say in the families.”

“It’s a sign of good faith. Shows that we respect them, and include them in important matters and consider their opinions. It’s really a rite of passage for our family, too. Some families do bat mitzvahs, some do quinceaneras, and we do this,” Connor explained.

“This seems pretty one sided, to me. Why don’t we get to test them?”

Connor smiled, “We do. It just doesn’t happen all that often. We tested Derek about ten years ago. My father was in charge then, but we had a representative from any family that was interested in attending. They asked him to do something to show his friendship, and commitment, to preserving life here. To prove that he would never turn Clade.”

“What did he do?”

“Oh, it was pretty radical. He swore an oath of allegiance to the family. So even if the Elfennol break their ties with us, he won’t. Neither will his family, since he’s the head of it. If our ties with the Elfennol are broken, Derek’s family would have to leave to stand by his oath. Or at least the ones who couldn’t isert themselves into another family would have to. Some people think that because there’s no real threat of our alliance being dissolved, Derek just got out of having to do any work. My dad made the call, though, and he gave Derek his approval.” It was clear that Connor agreed with that decision.

“How long does it take to get there?” I asked, sure it would take half a day.

“Only about an hour. You’ll be too tired after the testing is done for the travel home, so we’ll be staying the night. I don’t suggest packing anything since it will be a pain to travel with; they’ll have everything you need there. Yes, even toothbrushes, Cash.”

“Is Granddad going with us?” Cash asked.

“No, he has a friend driving him out there on his boat this evening. We thought it would be best to have someone there early to get a feel for the situation,” my uncle responded, much to my relief. It would have been very difficult to avoid Toby while swimming right next to him for an hour.

“Why can’t
we
take a boat?”

“For a few reasons: one, it’s tradition; two, this is something that you guys need to learn how to do; three, I had to swim out there, and I’ll be darned if you guys get to skip it.”

We all seemed to realize we were still in the kitchen at the same time, and without speaking we moved ourselves to the living room to sit down and talk everything out in more comfort. Uncle Connor went over more of our abilities, told us more about what Luke had been telling us earlier, and even did a little demonstration with an energy dagger. He refused to let us practice, however, saying that it wasn’t something we would need the next day. We didn’t, apparently, need combat training until we’d been deemed worthy. If only the Clade had gotten that message the night before.

After a couple hours of talking, right at dusk, a clumsy thumping came down the stairs. All three of us were still in attack mode, and in an awesome display of teamwork I Shielded the three of us; Cash Bent the closest window curtain to tangle the assailant, causing a quick tumble down the rest of the stairs; and Uncle Connor had about four of his energy daggers floating just beneath his fingertips.

“Ow, it’s me. It’s just me!” came Dove’s voice from underneath the tangle of curtain.

We had, ahem, forgotten that he was still upstairs sleeping it off.

Cash was first to reach him, offering a hand to help him up. “Sorry about that, man. I guess we’re a little jumpy.”

“No kidding. What time is it?” Dove asked, taking our attack completely in stride.

“Right after seven o’clock.”

“Crap. Della, you must have had some internal bleeding I didn’t notice. I usually don’t need to rest this long after a healing.” He yawned and scratched his head, making me notice that he had the worst case of bed head I’d ever seen. His hair was sticking up, and I mean straight up, on one side, and I found it adorable. Of course, I was immediately annoyed with myself for thinking that.

Aunt Ellis came out to see what the commotion was, shaking her head when she found out what had happened. “Dove, would you like something to eat? Your mother left some protein bars here for you and we have some steaks in the fridge that I’m sure Connor wouldn’t mind grilling up tonight.”

“That would be great, thanks Mrs. Neale. Do you know where she put my things? I really need to brush my teeth and take a shower.”

After Dove had finished washing up we sat down to a dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and filled him in on what was going on. After giving me a few worried glances, and asking many of the same questions Cask and I had asked earlier that day, he told my aunt and uncle that he would fill in everyone else in the area who didn’t already know, and keep an eye out for anything strange while we were away. Before he left, I gave him the keys to Luke’s truck to return, since Dove had left his car at the beach the night before, and I wouldn’t have a chance to return the truck on the morning.

February 2
nd
, 1969

Dear Journal,

I’ve started dreaming about the strange images I receive while Reading and decided to finally visit Renie to ask her advice about them. I told her what I have been seeing and she agreed to lay the cards out for me. The cards, however, weren’t in the mood to cooperate since they, too, seemed to be speaking in riddles. Or that is what Renie said about them, at least. She has promised to look into it more on her own.

The next morning aunt Ellis came into my bedroom and gently touched my shoulder when it was time to get up and get ready to head out. I’d been awake for hours, unable to sleep because my mind kept running through everything that would or could happen that day. I skipped my shower, since I would shortly be jumping into the ocean, then put on the bright new turquoise swimsuit that Ellis had gotten me on her shopping excursion a few weeks previous, thankful it was another one piece. After taking off the key necklace and ruby armlet, I was ready to go. I felt naked without them, especially without the armlet, and the tan line from constant wearing was very obvious.

I went downstairs to the smell of coffee and a paper box full of donuts. Cash was adding a healthy amount of cream and sugar to his coffee (a love of sweet coffee must be a family thing), and Uncle Connor was reading the paper and eating what looked like a jelly-stuffed donut. We were all dressed for a swim, though both of the men, and I’m counting Cash as one, had on T-shirts over their swim trunks.

“Ready, Della?” My uncle asked me when he noticed my presence, then grabbed the donut box and led us out the door and to the car where Aunt Ellis was already waiting when I nodded. We would, apparently, be driving several miles south before getting in the water and cutting across to the Elfennol’s home. I was relieved to know we wouldn’t be swimming the
entire
thirty miles.

After a few minutes and a few éclairs, we started seeing signs for the Hatteras Lighthouse. Aunt Ellis drove up a side road and let us out of the car. She took the t-shirts and shoes from her son and husband as they peeled them off in preparation for the swim, kissed us all goodbye, and drove off. We weren’t quite at the water, but it only took a few minutes to walk to the ocean.

“Okay guys. We’ll be doing four things to make this work. First, you need to Shield with Air around your face while you’re under. It will let you breathe the oxygen that’s dissolved in the water, keep water out of your nose, and let you see better. If you accidentally breathe a little water, just quickly Gather and it will take it out of your lungs, no problem,” he started wading into the ocean, not slowing his stride at all, and continued talking as he walked deeper and deeper into the water. “You two will also need to Temper Air, because it’s dark, and Earth, because you’ll need the stamina and strength. There are plenty of both elements to Gather from, but the reach can be far so you’ll need to Gather the entire time. Well, maybe not you, Della. Just keep an eye on your stores and do what you feel is best. And the last thing, and most important to make this go quickly, is you’ll need to Bend the water to help you along. Do you understand?”

No. No I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand at all. But Cash nodded his head, and before I could open my mouth to really say anything, my uncle dove under. Cash followed before I could even turn to him, and I was left alone, waist deep in the water and my mouth agape. Not wanting to be left behind, I did the only thing I could think of: I swore under my breath, took the biggest gulp of air I could manage, and dove under the next wave.

It took a moment for me to remember all the things my uncle had said, and another moment for me to figure out how to juggle all those things at once, while fighting the waves and catching up with my uncle and cousin. Finally, my lungs started burning and I instinctively took a deep breath. Of water. At this point I was too deep to be able to stand up and hack up a lung or two, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Before I could even think about the fact that breathing water is bad, my body and abilities went on autopilot. My lungs were cleared, and a Shield went over my mouth to prevent further accidents. Once instinct figured that part out for me, it was a cinch to bring the Shield over my nose and eyes. I immediately started Tempering air after my eyes had their “shield goggles” on, and when I caught sight of how far away Cash and Connor were, I set my mind to catching up. It wasn’t hard. Bending the water behind me to act like a jet, I was able to make up the distance in just a few seconds.

The next hour or so of my life was both grueling, and incredible. Watching the sunrise through the waves around us was surreal. Add the singing of dolphins from a pod that followed us for several miles, and it was almost a religious experience. Keeping pace with my uncle, who had obviously made this journey several times, was a less than happy experience. He didn’t slow down. In fact, he continued to increase his speed as we went along. It wasn’t that it was hard, our abilities kept me from having to expel any real energy, but it was mentally draining. Especially considering that I had to modify my Shielding as we descended into the depths to keep the water pressure from popping my brain like a grape.

Eventually we came to a big drop, like a step, that led to much deeper, and colder, water. After we followed it down for several minutes, we came to what looked like a cave entrance, if caves were made of stone with rune etchings on them. Uncle Connor gestured for us to follow him inside, doing a fun little flip while swimming to orient himself upright. After trying to imitate him, and failing, I found that the cave floor started pulling my feet down, so I was standing instead of swimming. Walking this way was really bizarre, but my uncle kept going, so after a shoulder shrug from Cash, we both sluggishly walked after him.

Things got stranger as we walked deeper into the cave. It was getting darker as we went, and I was so focused on trying to see around me that I didn’t notice at first. The water was beginning to thin as we walked farther in. Thinner and thinner until somehow we just weren’t underwater anymore. Like it faded into air as we walked. I have no idea how it was done, but there you are. We reached the end of the cave at about the same time that the moisture in the air became surface-norm and Uncle Connor turned to us and spoke.

“You guys ready?” he asked, the first words either of us had heard since we entered the water. Luckily I had turned off my super-senses as soon as the water thinned out enough to stop dampening sound.

“I guess so.” My voice warbled from nerves and fear as I answered. Cash looked about as nervous as I felt and just nodded his head at his father.

“You’ll be fine, guys. Just remember to be polite, remember your lessons, and pay attention. This is a big day for both of you!” He tried to add a little cheer to his voice, but failed. We were all anxious because of the unusual circumstances.

“Now, before we go on, I want you both to start Tempering Fire.”

“Dad, I don’t have any in my Well.”

“Then Gather, Cash.”

“But…” Then his eyes widened when he discovered it. The biggest source of fire energy I’d come across was close, which was unexpected since we were under the sea. We both then followed Connor’s instructions and started Tempering, gasping at the beauty that surrounded us.

Before, it just looked like a cave: boring and nondescript. Now there were images, runes, etched into the walls with pure energy. Tracing the light on the walls with my hands, I saw that the light reacted to my touch by changing colors. Connor’s brows furrowed when he noticed, and he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could Cash called out from an alcove to the right.

“Dad, what is this?”

We both wandered over to him to look, though Connor obviously knew what Cash was talking about, since he’d been there before. In front of him was a doorframe etched in light. It vaguely reminded me of the doorway into Moria from the “Lord of the Rings” movie, but it wasn’t so ornate, and there wasn’t any fancy lettering on it.

“That’s our way inside,” Connor said. He proceeded to place his hand in the dead center of the doorway, where a perfect circle was overlaid with a rich blue light. Cash and I watched expectantly for a few minutes, and right when I was starting to question whether Connor was forgetting to do something, the whole door flared a similar shade of blue and the doorway opened. It didn’t open in the way that a door normally opens, just suddenly everything that had been inside the glow of the doorframe was gone, leaving my uncle’s hand hovering over nothing and creating an archway for us to travel under. Uncle Connor looked back at us, and with a nod of his head directing us to follow, he walked under the archway and disappeared.

With nothing else to do, Cash and I followed, side-by-side since the doorway was wide enough for us to do so. The door closed behind us. I was still Tempering fire, and there seemed to be a glow coming from the sides of our path. Damping the Temper down a bit to better see with my regular eyesight, I realized that our path was really a bridge of sorts, and that the glow I was seeing was caused by a gigantic elemental energy source.

Which type of elemental source, you ask? Lava. Fiery molten magma was oozing in a river beneath my feet. It definitely explained the surplus fire we had felt while outside the door, and I quickly filled up my Well with as much as I could, not knowing if or when I’d have another opportunity. Fire was always the hardest to stock up on. It was only after we’d stepped off the pathway that I realized the cool and comfortable temperature I’d been enjoying should have been, well, uncomfortably hot. Or sweltering. Or boiling. Either way, it wasn’t and was just another “how’d they do it?” in a growing list of them, and we were barely a hundred feet into their base.

We stood for a few minutes, waiting, I assumed, for the small group of brightly glowing people who were walking towards us, and I took the opportunity to look around.

The cave, if it was a cave, was not what I expected. The floor was covered with a thick green moss, resembling grass but way spongier to step on, and there was light coming from runes in the ceiling and walls, visible even without the use of my abilities. Scattered every fifty feet or so, were giant statues. There wasn’t one close enough for me to inspect without leaving Cash and Connor, so I wasn’t able to see what they actually were until later.

While the small convoy approached us, I prepared myself to meet the mystical Elfennol for the first time. Their combined energy was shining so brightly that I was forced to stop Tempering, or else avert my eyes.

I stopped Tempering.

Even though I knew better, I had been expecting them to look, well, like mystical beings. They just looked like ordinary humans, or what ordinary humans would look like if they glowed a little, because I could still see the power emanating from them. They were all wearing outfits of a very lightweight-looking fabric, maybe linen, and several of them were adorned with all manner of jewelry. Bracelets, necklaces, and jewel-encrusted knives seemed to be the most popular.

“Connor. It’s good to see that you arrived safely. Your journey was pleasant, I hope,” said the man who led the group over. He seemed to be a few years younger than my uncle, but the way he held himself and the way he stood apart from the rest of the group made him seem like their leader.

“Nice to see you again, Derek. Did my father make it all right?” Well, of course he seemed like their leader. He was a friggin’ council member!

“Yes, the former Dux arrived yesterday evening. The rest of the council was surprised by his early arrival.”

“Yes, I suppose they would be. He’s getting older, and we thought it best if he skipped the swim out here.” My uncle didn’t exactly lie, but definitely skipped the real reason why my grandfather came out early.

“I take it that these are our new conscripts,” Derek said, raking a gaze over Cash and me. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Yes. Derek, this is my son Cash, and my niece, Della Deare. You two, this is Derek. He’s the head of the First family, and one of the council members who will be judging you.” My uncle raised an eyebrow at both of us as if saying ‘be polite, or else’.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Derek,” Cash said, sounding very adult and shaking Derek’s hand. I realized that this was probably a moment that Cash had been looking forward to for his entire life.

“Nice to meet you as well. Della Deare, is it? We haven’t had a Deare here in quite a while, since your mother left. I have to say, your existence came as quite a surprise to us.” He stepped back after shaking Cash’s hand before speaking to me, not giving me the opportunity to practice my grownup handshake.

“I’ve been getting that a lot, recently. If it’s any consolation, your existence was a surprise to me, too,” I said before I could control my mouth. My uncle was facing me, and gave me the worst “parent” look you could imagine, with narrowed eyes and thin lips. Cash was trying to master his face, but he was standing right next to me and I could feel his shoulders shaking a little in laughter. The other Elfennol looked like they had smelled something distasteful at my words, but Derek let loose a smile and a small laugh. I suppose I couldn’t get in trouble if one of the head honchos was okay with my recently acquired smart mouth.

“I’m sure it did.” His face held the traces of a smile before he continued. “We heard that she died in childbirth,” he said, though the inflection at the end made it sound like a question instead of the statement it was.