The Elemental Aspect (Book 1 of the Caster Project Series)

Chapter 11: A Departure Not Forgotten

Several weeks have passed since Damian's return to  Earth. Damian was sitting in his room diligently doing his homework. They had recently returned to school as seniors, but the group never truly discussed their newfound abilities at length for the time being. They had never fully agreed to go to Aralion as a group, and he imagined it annoyed Vitiate quite a bit. Damian sighed and put his pencil down and stared at the paper in front of him.

"Pre-cal," he said in disgust. He hated math with a passion. It was an annoyance that couldn't be avoided or helped.

He stood up and stretched his arms and legs and proceeded to move around the room. As much as homework was important to him, he couldn't help think about the missing girl, Aliana. The dreams that Max described in detail were haunting. The Shadow was an adversary that they had yet to understand.

A knock on the door attracted his attention. "Come in," he said.

The white door opened, allowing Joseph to step into the room. He gave his friend a two-finger salute as he closed the door behind him. "How's the homework?" he said in a cheerful sarcastic voice.

"Absolutely wonderful," he said back in the same tone.

His friend chuckled and dropped his backpack on the floor. "So, what's up?"

"Huh?"

"You asked to see me. remember?"

"Oh yeah! Right," he said.

The teenager remained silent, prompting his friend to have to urge it out of him. "Well, what is it?"

"Ah, well, you see...I need help with Pre-Cal."

Joseph groaned and crossed his arms like a disapproving parent. "That's not why you called me here. I'm" guessing it has to do with this Aralion business."

Damian dropped on his bed and started fidgeting with his blanket. "I can't get it out of my mind. I promised Vitiate that we would go and we haven't made up our minds. He's probably going stir crazy. After all, he went through a lot to get us to listen to him finally."

"It sounds like you trust him."

"I don't, but that world that place holds all the answers to my problems. Our lives are based on the decisions that we make. What if we're making the wrong decision?"

"Then we'll all face the repercussions," Joseph said.

Those words echoed in Damian's ears. Then we'll all face the repercussions. Those were morbid words, but it was not far from the truth.

As their conversation came to a close, the two heard a familiar buzz fill the room. Damian and Joseph locked eyes and quickly moved away from the bed as the portal appeared in the room. Books and bedsheets flew across the room as Vitiate stepped through the gateway.

"Dude, don't you ever knock?" Joseph asked.

"We need to talk," the mage said.

===

A light flickered into existence, drawing atoms from across the universe to a single point. The barrier between Aralion and Earth shimmered for the briefest of moments that the most astute person didn't even notice it. Aliana, however, took note of the irregularity. Her curiosity peaked as she stepped closer to the invisible wall and waved the air in front of her.

The young woman had been in hiding since the emergence of her powers. Strange men in black armor had appeared, and she surmised that they were looking for her. She knew that staying in one place was a death sentence. Every few hours, she moved from place to place to avoid detection and escape her pursuers.