The Elementals

Prologue

12 YEARS AGO

At the time, she didn't know what the night that changed the world meant for her.

When the five-year-old sat by the pond an hour after curfew, she simply wished to play. Her eyes were trained on the cold water where her toes splashed. In the center, the water spiraled gently-the fish in the pond spinning with it-matching the motion of her finger. Slowly, she lifted her hand and the spiraling water rose soundlessly into a little hill. Her hand stopped and the hill pancaked with a splash.

Often, she found herself by the pond for its peace. At only a few years old, the child had seen too much hate and corruption. The pond was isolated from all of that, in a quieter part of town, a few blocks from home, surrounded by trees on one side and a grass clearing where she sat. The road touched both sides and arrowed into the heart of town. The child's father warned that she couldn't leave after curfew, else she would be taken and punished by the garrison. So she sneaked out instead. As long as the guards didn't pass on patrol, she was safe.

A humming whispered in the child's ear. She peered down at the necklace resting on her chest, the usual source of the humming. The small black stone the size of a fingertip with a single jagged crack dragging down the middle was wrapped in an aluminum wire hung from a thin aluminum chain. This chunk of the aster was in her mother's clutches when the child was born-when her mother died. A memento, to remind her when she grew older of what was sacrificed to bring her into the world. After listening to the stone's ceaseless humming for her short five years of life, she managed to silence it with her asu-the source of power. Since the humming wasn't from the stone, it poked the child's curiosity. She swayed to it. It was relaxing in a way, singing in the calm night.

The child channeled the water into a whirlpool in the center of the pond and watched as the fish chased a meaningless race. The humming murmured relentlessly, sounding distant. The whirlpool expanded when she spread her dainty fingers, spraying a cool mist as it spun. It was hypnotizing-staring at the center watching the water spin round and round in slow, lazy circles. It crooned at her. Called her. Pulled her. And she wanted to jump right in and let it have her.

A shiver tickled the child's arms and legs. The sound of the water splashing against itself drummed in her ears. The water was so blue. It twinkled under the moonlight. The splashes became pulsing buzzes. The spinning quickened. Fish darted through the pond. The child's heartbeat sped. She gaped at the turning water-eyes wide, mouth ajar, head lolling. The buzzing was deafening. The fish and water contorted into one and spun dangerously fast, whipping in every direction. Her heart banged in its cage and her head reeled. All she saw was spinning glittering blue and all she heard was a blaring buzz.

Silence fell. A blast thundered.

The water exploded, launching waves ten feet through the air. The child's eyes widened and mouth shut, finally clear of her stupor.

She had done that. She was in a trance.

In her daze, the child had got on all fours leaning over the pond. One push and she would've fallen right in. The water crashed back into its trough, spattering her in icy vapor. She scrambled away from the sloshing pond, chest booming and hands quaking. For the first time in a while, the child had lost control completely. It frightened her.

Her father told her that the garrison had a way to track asu levels. They always knew how much asu someone harnessed. So she always tried to keep her asu levels repressed. Like wearing shackles, she never let her powers reach their full potential. Why? She was powerful. They didn't like powerful. Especially not someone more powerful than the King, in her father's words. The child knew her asu levels exploded at that moment. She didn't mean for it to. But, if what he said was true, guards would be scouring every blade of grass in seconds, searching for the source of that power. She just wanted to play with the fish and water.