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

Chapter 11: A Departure Not Forgotten

"What the hell am I doing?" he asked himself. He slumped on the side of his bed and rested his head on the mattress. "Am I doing the right thing, leaving my mom and sister behind for the answer to a life long obsession?" Then he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said.

The door opened to reveal his younger sister Maggie. She was still dressed in her snowflake pajamas, which amused Damian. Her golden-brown hair was tied up in a bun, but he could tell that she had done it in a hurry.

"Hey," he said. "What's up?"

"Just checking in," She said tiredly. She yawned and walked over to her brother, sitting right beside him. "When are you leaving?"

Damian looked down at his hands. Last night, he told his mom and sister of what had transpired in the forest. His mother wasn't pleased, to say the least, but Maggie, she was excited. Although, she did express some frustration about not having powers. "I don't know when exactly, Mags. Maybe in a few hours?"

She silently nodded. "I wish I was coming with you. I mean, you're going to a whole other world! With friends! It's like you're living your own movie."

Damian chuckled. "Well, it's definitely going to be dangerous."

"Duh. Of course, it's going to be dangerous. You're going to the same place dad disappeared."

An uneasy silence settled upon the siblings. Aralion had been the source of their problems from the very beginning, even before they were born. It was there, that they lost a part of their world.

With a shaky breath, Maggie looked at her brother and asked, "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me you'll find out what happened to dad."

Damian looked his sister in the eyes and said the words that he held firmly on to. "I promise."

The two shared a brief hug. Damian rose to his feet and grabbed his bag, walking out the door for what would be the first time in the events to come. Straddling the bag on his left shoulder, he found his mother sitting on the couch in the living room admiring a photo of the once complete family.

"You were only a little boy when he left," she said. "And yet, you still remember that night."

"It was life-changing," he said back. The young man could see that his mother was trying to hold back the tears. It was already hard enough to have lost a husband, but a son too? He sighed and dropped his bag next to the couch and sat next to his mother. "I'm going to be alright, mom. I've got my friends watching my back."

She took a breath and stared at her son. Damian could see that the rims around her eyes were starting to turn red. "And what if that's not enough? What if you all..."

"Mom, everything we'll be fine. I'll make sure we all come back in one piece."

His mother embraced him one last time, holding her son in her arms as if the world were ending. With a final squeeze, she let go and wiped the tears from her eyes. "There's one thing I want to give to you before you go." She stood up and walked over to the fireplace, discarding her husband's katana from the wall. "He would want you to have it, Damian."

Damian grabbed the sword, trying to hold down any emotion that threatened to make itself known. "Thanks, mom."

Then, before he knew it, the sound of a knock echoed across the room. Maggie was already at the door, releasing all the locks. Seconds later, Vitiate stepped into the room, but not in his mage garments, but rather in something Damian would only consider a teacher's outfit.

"What the hell are you wearing?" was the only thing the teenager could say.

"I am wearing your teacher," the mage said.

"What?"

"I'm your teacher Damian. As of right now, you shall address me as Mr. Algeron, your history teacher."

"You have got to be kidding me," Damian said in shock and disbelief. "How'd you convince everyone that you're a teacher?"

"I cast a spell over the town last night. Now, I work at your school, which means I am taking you all on a field trip, at least the ones that won a history jeopardy game on the American Revolution," the mage said with a hint of self-admiration.

"Wow, what a genius," Damian said uninterested. However, he was smiling at the mage's attempt to blend in. "Anyway, I think I'm ready."

"Good. I've already checked with everyone else. We'll meet up at the park." Vitiate nodded to Damian's mother and stepped out of the house.

Turning to face his mother and sister, he gave a small smile. "Guess it's time to go now."

The three shared one last hug. As they let go, his mother said, "Be safe."

He smiled back, gave a three-finger salute, and stepped out of the house, closing the front door behind him. He exhaled the breath that he didn't know he was holding in. "I will come back," he muttered to himself.

===

An hour had passed since Damian had left his house, but it felt like forever to him. He was standing on the damp grass with his friends, who each held a look of sadness and regret. Damian didn't know what they were thinking, but he guessed that they all wanted to be home with their families. He wanted the same thing.

"You think we'll ever come back home?" Teresa asked suddenly.

"Why do you say that?" asked Max.

The young woman rubbed her jacket sleeves for more warmth and said, "Well, we're going to a place full of things no one has seen before. Once we walk through that portal, we're leaving our old selves behind. We're being forced to become these people's heroes. Will we be forced to stay there forever?"

"I highly doubt that," Joseph said. "If they were going to do that, they might as well have captured us instead."

"But still," Catherine piped in. "Teresa has a point. What if our duties force us to stay in Aralion. What then?"

The thought of staying in another world was scary. Having to deal with monsters, becoming public figures of authority and inspiration was something that none of them were the faintest bit interested in.

Finally, Damian said, "I don't think we'll be forced to stay there. Aralion isn't our home, even if we are destined to be their heroes. Our home is here."

The four nodded in agreement. Soon after, the leaves on the bushes rustled, and Vitiate appeared, wearing his usual clothing. He looked at the five, but none of them could tell if he was sorry, happy, or just tired.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked.

"We're ready," Damian said. "Take us to Aralion."