Elemental

Chapter 6: The Lie and the Prophecy

I wake up vomiting water on the grass, gasping for each painful breath. I feel as though I swallowed a porcupine, then coughed it back up. My jaw hurts like heck and i think my shoulder is dislocated. With a groan, I try to sit up, but a gentle hand pushes me back down. I look at the hand, then the arm, and finally my eyes find the face. It takes me a second, but my brain finally computes the obvious.

"Brooke!" I croak.

A small smile flickers across her face. "Yeah?"

"You're here!"

"Nice observation."

I shiver in spite of my now warm insides.

"Are you okay? You look really pale and kind of blue."

I roll my eyes.  "Yeah. I just about drowned, but I've never felt better!"

She smiles. "Come on. We should get you back to Andrew's."

A bush a few feet away rustles. I stare at it, then decide it must have been a rabbit or something.

Brooke helps me slowly stand up. When I'm on my feet, I can't stand up completely straight because of the intense pain in my stomach. We start slowly walking. Brooke tells me of how she had peeked in my bedroom, and seen how I wasn't there and the window was open. She started searching for me in the woods, and had gotten to the river when she had seen me face down in the water and a man running away. She tells me she dragged me out of the water and performed CPR.

When she finishes talking, a breeze floats by us and then solidifies into a man. Vayu. Without warning, Brooke takes off at a sprint towards the village. I start to fall without her support but catch myself on a tree.

"Brooke!" I yell hoarsely after her.

"It's no use," Vayu tells me sympathetically. "She's not worth it, the liar."

"Don't talk about her like that!" I hiss.

"Would someone who really cares about you lie blatantly to you?"

"What are you talking about? Brooke would never lie to me."

"Au contraire. She's done nothing but lie to you."

"What are you talking about?" I glare at him.

"Answers will come in time," he replies enigmatically. "But for now, I'm afraid you must come with me."

"Where's the rest of your gang?" I jeer.

"I came alone this time. I was finally able to convince the Council that kidnapping and hypnotism wasn't the best way to gain trust. I have come to invite you to the Capitol."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll never know the lies Brooke told you or if you can actually trust her."

Hmm... If I go with him, I'll know about the lies that he's talking about. But, then, he could always be lying... Knowing myself, if I don't go, I'll never trust Brooke again. But then again, what if it's all a trap? Well, I got out of it last time, didn't I? I mean, sure, I almost killed Brooke... I could always either escape and go back home or back here... I'm a fast runner, I could probably escape...

"I'll come."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Vayu says with a bow. A bow? Who does he think I am? Some kind of royalty? 

"But I can't really walk that far, after you sent that man to drown me."

Vayu looks genuinely confused, and a little concerned. "What are you talking about?"