Fractured Soul

Chapter 43: Earth Magic

Mella followed Enki back outside and through another part of Koa. The trees became smaller, more normal sized, letting more of the sunlight through the leaves and branches.

"So, why are you with the prince, if you don't mind me asking." Enki said finally.

"He saved my life. He helped me escape his parents." Mella replied flatly.

"And you aren't speaking because?" Enki pressed on.

Mella sighed. "Because he lied to me, about something really important. Like life-or-death important."

"Oh." Enki didn't ask any further or say anything else for the rest of the walk. "Here we are."

They had arrived at a large clearing, with a small pond near the opposite tree line. Other elementals had obviously used the place as well. There were scorch marks and pockets of mud riddling the ground.

"Why are there other elementals here? I thought Koa was just earth."

"Well," Enki started, but a new voice talked over her.

"Koa is one of the closest cities to the border to Ivadona. People are trying to leave so their families have a chance of staying together if the king comes knocking." Mella turned around, startled.

Two boys had entered the clearing behind them. The taller one was skinny, with messy brownish-blonde hair and intense hazel eyes. The other was shorter, with sandy hair and light brown eyes.

"Plus there is no one place where there's only one element. There will always be other elementals in areas where one element is usually dominant." The tall one added.

"Um…okay. Enki, who are they?" Mella asked, slightly wary.

"Hal. Eron. Nice of you to join us. You've met Mella." Mella gave them a small smile and a nod. They returned the gesture. Enki continued on. "Drake's probably not going to be here. At least one of us has to be with the prince or Mella here. So," Enki clapped her hands together, thinking for a moment. "Hal, why don't you show Mella the basics, and Eron, I'll help you out."

The taller one, Hal, nodded and walked towards Mella. Enki turned towards Eron and they went off a ways.

"Hi." Mella said.

"Hello." Hal said. It looked like he was searching for words. "So, earth magic. Well, there's two parts." Hal stomped his foot once and part of the ground rose up next to them. "There's moving the earth, like that," he said. Hal waved his hand over the raised earth and it sank back down. "And then there's making things grow." He pointed at the ground and a vine climbed next to him, blooming in spots until it reached Mella's head.

"So, that means earth can be used to heal?" Mella guessed, slowly connecting the dots.

Hal nodded. "Yeah. It's how we patched up the prince, and how we tried to fix you. That's some curse you got. Nothing worked."

Mella was sick of semi-unpleasant things being brought up. She wanted to be in the here and now. "Can we not talk about it? Please? What do I have to do for earth magic?"

"Just do what I did. Monkey see, monkey do. It may not work for a bit, but just keep trying."

Mella raised her foot, then hesitated. “Whatever you see, Hal, promise you won’t freak out?”

Hal looked confused. “Uh, sure. But why would I freak out?”

“You’ll see.” Mella slammed her foot down. Instantly part of the ground shot up. The headache she had woken up with had faded, but it was starting to come back.