Newborough - Book Three

Supernatural Identification

Aunt Beth is the first one to greet the newcomers the moment a familiar car parks in front of our house. Uncle Seb has a grave face on as the two other unfamiliar people come out of the car. 

"Hey, Carlisle," Aunt Beth says with a huge smile as she runs towards the stern-looking man wearing trousers and smart polo shirt. I am so surprised to see that the tough-military-looking guy actually cracks a smile and hugs Aunt Beth. It makes me wonder if they had a thing before...

Uncle Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Sure, no hug for me?"

Aunt Beth playfully punches Uncle Seb in the arm. "I see you almost everyday; so there's no need to hug you."

"I'm really wounded," Uncle Seb complains as Aunt Beth shares a small hug with the other stern women. 

"Augustus," Carlisle says, shaking hands with dad. "It's been a while."

"Heard you were working as a lecturer," dad replies formally, squeezing my hand with his other hand for reassurance. 

Carlisle nods once. "Yeah, and also did my doctorate. I got involved with how our powers come about; conjuring the specific element, I mean. That's the reason I wanted all of us to meet up."

"I'm afraid that Augustus and his niece shouldn't interfere in this meet-up," Piper says in a matter-of-fact way. I find it strange how they know my true relation with dad.

Uncle Seb shakes his head violently. "No way! At least Augustus should listen in; he has better judgement and more experience in any supernatural department."

"I agree," Aunt Beth says with a from. She looks disapproving of Piper. "I trust Augustus and his daughter more than I do with Carlisle and you, Piper. We may be bounded as fellow Elementals of this lifetime, but do remember that I spent the last 15 years with them."

"How would you know that Augustus's Siren niece won't rat us out to her fellow fish friends?" Piper sneers.

Dad snarls warningly at the Water Elemental as Uncle Seb looks angry at her words. 

"What the hell? You come here and then insult our hosts as well as judge my niece?" Uncle Seb yells angrily. "I really thought you changed, Piper."

"Her kind was the reason we lose a lot of people at the war!" 

"You can't still be blaming them for his death, Piper?" Uncle Seb yells. "They were manipulated by Asmodeus!"

Carlisle waves his hand to settle them down. "Stop it! Piper, we are guests on this land, and I want you to behave yourself. You too, Beth and Seb. Time is constraint and I really do hope we can get this meeting over with because I have a class to lecture the day after tomorrow."

Piper sneers nastily, but agree to the terms set by Carlisle. It is clear to see that Carlisle the Air Elemental who acts as the leader among the 4 of them. After all these years, I've always thought that Aunt Beth would be since she was strict with me. It is so strange for me to see her obey someone else without much fight.

"What's going on, Carlisle?" dad asks straight to the point when everyone is settled nicely in the living room. Everyone is served drinks except for Piper, who refuses to accept any refreshments. 

The Air Elemental massages his forehead as he begins telling his concern, "I've been studying the Elemental powers for a few years now, and I have discovered that if we were to be put in a supernatural experiment, anyone would think that we are humans. Biologically, our powers have a way to hide themselves from any testing..."

"What's the use of knowing about our biology?" Uncle Seb asks boredly, yawning halfway.

Carlisle glares at Uncle Seb for interrupting him. Uncle Seb quickly apologises with a cheeky smile. 

"I don't know about you, but I was approached by a few government officers from the Supernatural department. They were testing everyone in Singapore to be given their Supernatural Identity," Carlisle says, eyeing me for a second.

"The Singapore government is testing everyone?" Aunt Beth screeches in panic. 

"Why have we not hear about this on the news? There's no official word about it!" dad says so calmly, that it's starting to scare me. 

Carlisle sighs. "If I were to make an educated guess, the government doesn't want anyone to run off during the testing. No one is saying anything about it because the tests are simple and harmless. This testing is spreading in Asia, but I'm not sure about our nation. I'm pretty sure that our government will also follow lead soon.

"The four of us Elementals will be considered humans, so we are safe. However, I have a bad feeling about this new Supernatural Council..."

"What do you mean?" Uncle Seb pipes up. "They're doing a great job at making sure that the human groups are not being bullied by the majority werewolves and vampires."

Carlisle shakes his head at Uncle Seb's shallow-mindedness. "That's the thing - You do not hear about any other Supernatural groups besides the majority, which are the werewolves, vampires, witches, shifters, mermaids, angels, and demigods."

"The Minotaurs fear about this," dad comments, thinking deeply about the situation. "The Supernatural Council tends to do experiments on newly discovered creatures like the selkies."

"Experiment?" Piper questions curiously.

Dad shakes his head. "I don't know much about it, since there are not many minority groups. The purpose of the experiment is to know the kinds' general limits and powers, also making sure that they do not bring harm to the whole society."

"What about the Hunter Council? I heard that they manage to wipe out the demon population," Carlisle says in a matter-of-fact way.

A slight dark shiver trembles down my spine. 

"This is not right," Aunt Beth speaks her mind. "They do not have the right to kill people just based on what they are."

"All demons are evil, so they deserve the deaths they were given," Piper says darkly. 

"What if a few of them actually do not intend to go along with Asmodeus's plans in the first place? Have you ever thought that the small number of them do not have a choice in this matter?" Uncle Seb shoots back. 

"The world would have been fine if all of their side is dead," Piper mumbles angrily. She looks pointedly at me, judging me even without knowing me in the first place.

Dad growls in rage at the Water Elemental. 

"Melinda is not like the other Sirens, Piper," Aunt Beth defends me. 

"They'll do anything to survive," Piper says nastily, stands up and walks out of the house without turning back. 

Carlisle sighs again. "She still haven't gotten over him. Even after all these years, she blames all of Asmodesus's allies for their deaths. We have come to just warn you, Augustus, for your niece's sake. Also please keep an eye on things around here, I have a bad feeling that the Identification is not for a good purpose. Please do let Miss Lisbeth know as well, since she is still the key to world domination. I'm not sure if the Identification Test will be able to tell that Miss Lisbeth is the Peacekeeper. I'll try to keep Piper away from the pubs and clubs again."

With that, Carlisle slips out of the house after Piper.

The four of us sits in silence, processing what has happened. 

Why are things getting more and more confusing these days?