We probably spent the next hour bickering about who got to keep the ring while we figured out the clue at the same time.
I mean seriously; 'I rumble, I shake, I glow, you fear me' - what sort of clue is that?
It's like Sidara expected us to be riddle geniuses or something! I mean she gave us the riddle and she made the stupid ring herself . . .
Or was there some complicated magic interwoven with this?
I let out a frustrated sigh, earning a disapproving gaze from Cale.
"Don't get too stressed out about this," he told me sympathetically. "We'll figure it out."
"Yes but it's too . . . weird!" I exclaimed, annoyed. I flung myself back into the couch and blinked up at the ceiling. "What the heck rumbles, shakes, glows and makes me fear it? I don't fear anything!"
"The Hunters," Felix pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"That doesn't count; this is the human world," I corrected quickly, narrowing my eyes at him when he entered my line of vision. "Help me up."
"No." He smirked - I repeat - he smirked! He had the nerve to smirk at me when I clearly had the upper hand here!
I ground my teeth together and held up a hand. His eyes were wide with fear, backing away until I pushed forwards, not breaking my gaze from his.
Felix was forced backwards, dragged along the ground until he was pinned to the wall. "Rose! Let me go!"
"Rose seriously, enough," Cale sighed, frustrated. "I'm just as confused as you are on this and fighting won't get us anywhere - it didn't last time!"
I huffed, letting my hand fall and watched Felix topple onto the ground. I had to grin at that then turned back to Cale. "I reckon it's got to be something Wind related; what else would shake and rumble? A tornado maybe?"
"But they don't glow and I doubt Sidara would send some random tornado for us to dive into just to get the stupid Crystal," Felix snapped, picking himself up and glared at me from across the couch. "It's clearly fire."
"It's Air!" I argued, clenching my fists. "Hand me the Earth Ring!"
"Shut up both of you!" Cale said lazily, sprawling himself across the couch. "Seeing as Rose is the only one with the accessible element and can provide us protection, we'll elaborate more on the air part."
"Geyser!" I exclaimed. "They glow right?"
"No," Cale said flatly. "Think bigger; you said something Wind-related and tornado fit a part of the criteria. Think of something that would glow while releasing air or something."
I huffed once more, getting annoyed with how Cale turned down my ideas. "Well I'm shooting ideas!"
"I'm telling you, it's fire!" Felix cried out. "Haven't you guys watched or seen Avatar The Last Airbender?!" We both gave him a blank stare, only earning a groan of annoyance from him. "The sequence is Water, Earth, Fire and Air!"
"He does have a point," Cale replied. "Just saying."
"It's from a stupid TV show! It's merely a coincidence that water and earth were the first two!" I planted my hands on my hips and stared at them disbelievingly. "It's a TV show for crying out loud!"
"And now she has a good point," Cale sighed. "But Felix is right; fire glows and I can't think of anything wind-related that would glow."
I scowled but soon my shoulders had slumped in defeat. "Fine. I'll think fire this time." I stared at Felix, narrowing my eyes at him when I saw a smug grin cross his face. "But if you ever think of making fun of me, just know I can twist your arteries."
"That's so stupid!" he snorted. "Not that you should try it!"
I shook my head. "I can do much worse, dude."
Mum got back within the next two hours and we were flat out of ideas.
What had we come up with?
- A geyser
- Lightning
- Fireplace
- Oven
- Campfire
- Bush fire
Obviously the boys weren't as creative as I was when it came to this stuff - but really; lightning? How on earth was a piece of jagged crystal supposed to travel on a rod of lightning? Honestly!
"You three have been very quiet," Mum commented, poking at her pasta and chewed on it slowly. "It's because of Ashleigh isn't it?"
I shrugged. "Maybe." Possibly also because Felix and Cale can't come up with any smart leads for the next crystal! We were wasting precious time here! Precious!
"Rose," Cale warned, shooting me a disapproving look from across the table then turned to our concerned mother. "Yeah; Ashleigh just completes our group."
"And whenever we do something as a group, we just can't seem to do it without her," I spoke up, giving my brother and Felix obvious glances. "She just . . . well she makes our group a group."
She sighed, leaning back and dabbed at her mouth with a tissue. "I swear you kids are becoming harder to read as you grow older. I don't know what's going on between the four of you but just know; I know Ashleigh is innocent. I've known that girl for most of her life and I'm sure she wouldn't start a fire. Right Rose? You would know best."
I nodded, pushing my plate of pasta away from myself. "Yes. I know."
"And well . . . I can't believe this," she muttered, standing up and planted her hands on her hips. She gave us all a stern yet wry smiling gaze. "Guess what?"
Cale snorted. "You look like Rose when you do that."
Our mum merely chuckled. "I gave birth to her; of course I do."
I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my chair and stared at her expectantly. "Guess what, what?"
"Seeing as you all miss Ashleigh so much even though it hasn't been a day," she continued, grabbing her plate and cutlery. "I'll arrange a visit for you to her down at the Detention Centre."
All three of us froze in mid-chew, unable to believe our ears. Did she just say -
"You all seem very surprised so I'll let it soak in," she called over her shoulder, sliding the plates into the sink. "I'm going to bed; be up ten in the morning, sharp!"
And with that, she disappeared up the stairs, her audible yawn floating down into the dining room.
"We're seeing Ashleigh tomorrow," I whispered, unable to believe my own words.
"Yep," Felix said, standing up and sighed. "I'm gonna go watch TV. You coming Cale?"
"I'm gonna finish dinner," he said with a shake of his head. "Have fun."
"Yeah, yeah."
Felix disappeared from the kitchen and soon the steady hum of the TV roared from the living room.
"You okay Rose?" Cale gave me a concerned look.
I merely shook my head and smiled. "We can figure this out with Ashleigh - not without her and you know that!"
Cale grinned at my enthusiasm. "Looks like you're happy to see your best friend."
"How can I not? It's been less than a day!" I exclaimed and leapt to my feet, too excited to finish my dinner. "Ooh they better be treating her well there! If not, I'll be stepping in and -"
"Knowing you Rose, we'll need to lay down a few rules," Cale interjected hastily and stopped me from leaving the room. "Rose I want you to take an oath."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "Why?"
"Because you, as an Element Guardian, need to start taking full responsibility for your actions and think before you act," he declared, giving me a stern look. "I know you want Ash out of that Detention Centre faster than you can blink so that we can do this all together but we can't do anything until she is proven innocent. It's just the way this world works."
"But -"
"Just because," he interrupted. "That we are involved with magic and an upcoming war against creatures from a different realm doesn't mean that we have the right to meddle with the laws of this mortal realm."
"You're a mortal too."
"True - but I'll also be an Element Guardian like you," he said, smiling down at me light-heartedly. "Rose, as the Water Crystal Guardian, do you swear to refrain from using your powers when we visit Ashleigh tomorrow morning? Do you swear that you won't break this promise?"
I stared at him disbelievingly, taking a step back and backed into my dining table. "You're kidding right?"
"Nope," he said with a shrug. "You weren't the only one who got weird dreams."
I felt my eyes widen. "You heard voices too?"
"No; I got Sidara instead."
"But - but - but you didn't wake up screaming!" I spluttered.
"Because I'm your older brother and I need to show maturity," he said with a shrug. "Making an oath with an Element Guardian of any realm in the universe is very serious Rose; you need to swear to your fellow family member, brother and soon to be Element Guardian that you will keep to the oath and that you won't meddle with whatever happens."
I clamped my mouth shut knowing that his terms were very basic. If Cale was smart then I could be too; I'd find a loophole in this even if this oath he's making me swear to probably binds my powers where the conditions apply.
A sudden tingling feeling ran up my spine as I took Cale's extended hand and shook it violently, narrowing my eyes at him. "I, Rose the Water Element Guardian, swear to your utterly stupid conditions, oh dear brother."
A whoosh swept through the dining room, flinging our hair askew and disappeared as soon as it came.
Whoa . . . weird.
"Done."
That night, I struggled to get to sleep until total darkness overcame me in an instant; nothing like how I should fall asleep naturally!
I found myself completely aware of my surroundings and my body; I was breathing deeply, my entire body calm and relaxed with every single muscle loose.
Was this how it felt like to be asleep?
"You are not asleep."
I jumped at the voice. Wait I jumped?
I held out my arms, unable to feel my conscious body move and yet I could clearly see my long limbs extended out in front of me. I stared wide-eyed; what was going on?
"Am I dreaming?" I asked aloud, curious if the voice would reply or not.
"No, you are not."
I knew that voice . . . even if my memory is really hazy I would know that melodious voice anywhere!
"Sidara!" I shouted, feeling relief. Didn't she come to Cale in a dream before? "Sidara come out! It's okay! It's safe!"
"Even in this form, I risk my very own existence," she whispered from behind me.
I twirled around only to be hit in the face with a full force of bright light. "Um a little too much light don't you think?"
"Not enough time - your brother was strong enough to hide my existence in this Realm," she whispered melodically, her voice haste. "You are running out of time! The Hunters are on their way and the entire mortal realm is in jeopardy! You have until the sixth moon cycle; remember the prophecy and you should be fine. We are in a Light Mind state and even in this form, it is almost impossible to continue the message. Hurry Guardian Rosella; for the sake of your Realm . . . hurry . . ."
Total blackness. She just disappeared; just like that.
I stared into the darkness, unable to believe that she had broken probably millions of rules to appear in a dream to me.
Light Mind state? What the echo is that supposed to mean?
And why is it so hard for her to just appear in my bedroom and talk to me in a whisper like any other normal magical person who wanted to speak with me? Not that something like that actually happened to me.
I contemplated Sidara's words and abruptly realised that the pressure was on; we had probably about a month to find the next to crystals and prepare ourselves for battle or else the Hunters would take over the mortal realm.
I'm guessing they've done so to the others - no wonder they're so feared!
Even Sidara sounded afraid of them . . .
Hmm. Why am I still in this state? Didn't Sidara keep me in this state just to communicate with me?
She's gone now . . . so fall asleep Rose! Just fall asleep . . .
"Hello, Rosella Alcot."
I jumped for the second time that night, flung myself around and stared. I just stared . . .
"What the heck are you supposed to be?" I asked sharply, feeling on edge.
"I can help you on your quest, Rosella," it said softly.
"Are you a he or a she?"
"I am neither female nor male; in my realm, we do not discriminate with gender as you do in yours," it whispered.
"I'll call you a she," I said dumbly, feeling tired all of a sudden. Could I even feel tired in this state? I mean I was practically daydreaming while dreaming . . .
"I offer you my assistance in your quest, Rosella Alcot," she repeated, giving me a cool stare. "It is what you will need in your dire situation."
"Look I don't think we'll need your help," I said stubbornly, narrowing my eyes at her. "Felix, Cale and I are doing fine without you!"
"Several other realms have watched the display of courage from the four of you, including Ashleigh Elbane who is now in custody of mortal authorities," she stated, giving me an emotionless stare. "We have been immensely impressed by your choices but disappointed when you had almost cost your lives. My people have lost so many to the Hunters and we barely have enough magic running through our veins to repopulate our kind. As one of the sole survivors from the Hunter attacks, I offer you my guidance and assistance for the Hunters are merciless even as it comes down to a realm filled with mortals."
My jaw dropped and I swear my eye started to twitch. "What are you?" I scrutinized her briefly; tall lanky body probably too thin to be considered human, long spindly limbs and a long face with slanted round eyes. It was like looking at a human stick bug. No offence.
"I am from the Xantha race," she introduced, getting down on one knee and inclined her head respectfully. "Zek."
"Zek," I repeated, smiling at the name and yawned. "Look I'm getting tired but I'll just . . . well if I need the help I'll ring."
"You need not attempt to use silly mortal technology to contact me," she said smoothly, gliding up effortlessly. "My name is all you need."
I nodded, yawning once more and smiled tiredly at Zek. "Well it was nice meeting you . . . and thanks."
"The pleasure is all mine, Guardian Rosella," she said in a low voice and bowed once more.
Within a few seconds, I was consumed into darkness once more - and this time I was not even the slightest bit aware of my sleeping state.