Elements Academy (Book One)

Chapter Twelve

   

      Slowly, I stand up, once I can feel my limbs again. I turn my head to see Chloe and Lydia picking themselves up off the ground too. My heart still pounding in my chest, I jump when I look up - straight into the bright green eyes of Eirlys, who's looking at us like we're crazy.

     "What are you idiots doing laying on the ground?" She asks, raising one light eyebrow in question. I look mutely at her. Eirlys is dressed in her usual jeans, and vest, with a silvery-blue shirt on under the vest. The little pin resembling a drop of water glimmers blue on her chest. She cocks her head. "Is this some kind of Fire thing, or have you all gone off your rocker?"

     "We... fell." Chloe says lamely.

     Eirlys rolls her eyes. "All of you just... fell?" She shifts her weight to one foot and eyes us. "And you expect me to believe that?" We all stare at the Water Elemental. My eyes grow wide as I wonder what exactly she'd seen. Perhaps she'd witnessed everything Nocturna had done over here. That makes sense. Water and Fire Elementals don't get along, so why else would she be speaking to three Fires? Eirlys glares at us. "How stupid to you think I am?"

     Chloe, Lydia and I just sort of look at each other, then back at the Water Elemental. That's when Lydia decides to speak for all of us. "Come on, you saw what went on over here. You know what she did!" As soon as Lydia says that, confusion crosses Eirlys's face.

     "What are you numbskulls talking about?" She demands. "I didn't see anything that "went on" over here!"

     "What are you, blind?" Chloe snaps. "You may be Water, but you've still got eyes. Besides, if you didn't see her, why are you even over here?"

      Eirlys's green eyes narrow at Chloe. "All I saw was you three talking to, the new girl, Cyra. Then she ran away. What? Are you all ganging up on the new kid now? Then when I looked again, all I saw were you fools flopping around on the ground like fish out of water." She glares at us. "What? Are you all mentally disabled or something?"

     "Fish out of water? Well you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Water girl?" I snarl, my anger broiling over at last.

     "You Fire Elementals are a whole bunch of hot-heads. Fires always make me angry. Look at you fools flopping around on the ground, when all three of you can't even make a spark!" Eirlys's eyes are green embers now, as she growls this back at us.

     That comment angers me to the point where smoke begins to roll from my fingertips. I will it to become flames, but no matter how hard I try, only more smoke appears. Eirlys begins to laugh from a few feet away.

     "See what I mean?" She laughs. "Not even a spark! This is too good!"

     Chloe's eyes flame. "You shut your mouth! That's my best friend!" Flames burst from the palms of her hands, and she takes a step back, before chucking a stream of flame in Eirlys's direction. The flames hit her in the arm as she tries to dodge the blast, and the Water Elemental lets out a high-pitched shriek of pain. 

     All anger gone, Lydia and I stare in disbelief at Chloe, who now has bits of flame licking at the curls in her brown hair, even the blue parts of Chloe's eyes seem to be wheels of flame. 

     Eirlys doesn't move for a second, but then she whips around. Some of the water droplets from the lake hovering around her like she's some kind of human liquid magnet. "How dare you, you little spark plug! Take this!" Before her words can process, Eirlys had reared back, and summoned a large, wide strand of water, a wave,  jutting up from the lake like a giant spider leg.

     My eyes grow to the size of golf balls, when Eirlys carelessly flicks her wrist is our direction, and the title wave crashes forward, washing us all down the beach. I sputter as the water drags us toward the lake, and washes away just at the shore line, the water vanishing into the lake again, as if nothing had happened.