Burnt (Book One in the Elementals Saga)

Prologue

"Michael," my mom said, wiping the dirt off my face. "Why don't you go play outside some more? Granny and I have some things to talk about."

My sister, Michelle, sneered at me as I opened the door that led outside to our grandma's front yard. Like any typical grandmother, her garden consists of several large statues and hundreds of large, potted plants. Over the years vines had begun growing up the sides of the white house and now covered it completely. Michelle and I had once tried to climb onto the roof using the vines as ropes. The result was a broken wrist and a missing tooth.

Michelle always liked to point out how, since she was older, she got to listen to mom and grandma's conversations that only seemed to appear once I was out of the room. Never in my small mind did it even occur that they could possibly be talking about me. Ah, the wonders of being a child.

I walked to the edge of the garden and watched the different couples and groups of people pass me. It had became a personal game of my to guess their stories. They were walking to a family reunion. They were getting married. And they were just visiting town.

I sighed. I could have been having fun if Michelle would just come out and play with me. But she never did. Not anymore anyway. I remember before Michelle started caring about what she wore and who she hung out with and all that junk that girls obsess about, how she would come up with stories much better than mine.

"They are searching for their long, lost sister separated at birth," she had said once. "And they are part of a secret society that is fighting for freedom for squirrels." She always made me laugh. I miss that.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I remember is a lady standing over me. She was beyond beautiful, maybe angelic. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her blue eyes...wow. She had a big, toothy smile on her face, and the words that came out didn't seem to match.

"Look at you," she snarled, disgust written clearly on her face. "You don't even know who you are. You're nothing. You're pathetic."

I simply stared, completely mesmerized by this woman. I hadn't noticed the strange feeling that seemed to be brewing in the pit of my stomach.

"I could kill you right now!" She laughs. "But sadly it isn't allowed. Not until I know for certain."

That feeling. It felt as if someone had lit a match in my stomach, and now my stomach was on fire.

The woman glances up. Her eyes focus on something and an even bigger grin spreads across her face.

"Well," she sighs,"there's my proof."

She ruffles my hair playfully. "Now darling, I want you to remember something."

She bends down until her mouth is millimeters away from my ear.

"Remember," she whispers. "that it is all your fault..."

She stands up, gives me a wink, and walks away. I am left there wondering. Wondering what in the world was the lady talking about. Wondering what was my fault. And wondering why I was so hot.

That's when I heard the screams.

And I turned around to my grandmother's house in flames.