The drive to Jason's house didn't take long. Julie was back to her talkative self and asking a lot of questions about Elictis. They were basically the same questions Katia asked just the day before. She could answer most of them but had to look to Nathan for help on some.
When they arrived at Jason's house Nathan left the car to give the two girls a moment alone. He stayed outside and looked around but didn't see any sign of danger.
Katia gave Julie a huge hug. "Thank you so much for being so cool about this."
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Julie asked.
Katia shrugged. "I don't know. Wasn't it a little freaky? Cause I'm still freaked out."
"Well yeah but freaky in a good way. You know how you always found the X-men cool? It's like that," Julie answered.
"You really are the best friend in the world," Katia said.
"I know," Julie agreed. "Just don't forget about me. I'll just be a phone call away."
"That'll never happen," Katia said. "I'll see you later."
She gave Julie a hug and exited the car. She stood next to Nathan and watched Julie pull away. She waved but then gasped when she felt a searing pain in her arm.
"Katia! Your arm is bleeding!" Nathan said as he took notice of Katia's injury.
"Oh yeah I forgot about that. Must've been the adrenaline. It's nothing. I'll just put some bandages on it later," Katia said but she noticed that the pain was a lot worse than before. She also had trouble moving her arm.
"No this is serious," Nathan insisted. "Their knives are poisonous. We have to put some special potion on it right away."
"Okay I'll ask Jason for some," Katia said as she fumbled in her pocket. "Shoot, I think I forgot my keys."
She knocked on the door and they heard Jason walking over. He opened the door and took in their dishevled looks. Nathan's clothes were all crooked and his jacket had rips in it. Katia's hair was a huge mess and she had a bleeding cut on her arm.
"You guys were attacked," Jason concluded with an angry tone. Katia went around Jason and entered the house with Nathan following behind her.
"Yeah. I wasn't expecting it. Usually they don't attack two days in a row," Nathan told Jason. "And Katia needs some medicine. One of the knives caught her in the arm."
Jason cursed quietly. "I knew you shouldn't have gone, Katia. You could've died again."
"I know. I'm sorry, but I don't want them to force me to stay inside for the rest of my life," Katia said slightly annoyed. Two days into this world and it was already becoming a nuisance.
"No you just need to learn how to use your powers and get a weapon. I'll take you to Aevria after we deal with your cut. Go wash it out in the bathroom, and I'll put some medicine on it," Jason said patiently.
Katia left the two boys and went into the bathroom. She took her shirt off and examined the cut on her arm. It was still bleeding slightly and it began to swell. The burning feeling was also still there and her skin looked a little discolored, almost as if it was turning gray.
Katia turned the shower on and placed her arm under the cool water. Instantly her arm began to feel much better. After she cleaned the wound, she was surprised to see that it looked a lot better. It was already starting to heal and the swelling disappeared.
"Okay it's all good. Can I have some medicine now?" Katia asked Jason as she exited the bathroom.
"Katia, your cut is pretty much healed," Nathan said in wonder.
"Yeah, I just placed it under the water and it felt much better. Is that supposed to happen?" Katia asked.
"No, usually it takes about a week for the wound to heal, even with the medicine," Jason replied, just as surprised as Nathan. "You must have the power to heal with water."
He gingerly touched what remained of Katia's cut, but she hardly even felt a thing.
"Really? That's amazing! So if I get hurt I just have to go in water and I'll be healed?" Katia asked excitedly. That could come in handy especially since she was pretty accident prone.
"Pretty much. If you train, you may be able to heal others, too," Jason told Katia. "Let's just put some medicine to be sure."
Jason got the medicine and put it on Katia's arm. It was a light pink liquid, and as soon as it touched her arm, the little burning that was left disappeared immediately.
"Okay let's head to Aevria now," Jason announced.
Katia's heart began to race with excitement. She had been dying to go to Aevria ever since first hearing about it. "How do we get there?" Katia asked.
"Every Elicti house has a special door. You have to present your power in some way then it will make a portal to Aevria," Jason explained.
"Cool! Which door do you use?" Katia asked.
Jason smirked. "My closet door."
"Like Narnia?" Katia asked in amusement.
"Exactly," he responded.
Jason led them to his closet and touched the door. Carvings and engravings started to appear from within the wood, making an intricate pattern around a circle that emerged in the middle. Once the engravings stopped appearing, the circle began to glow lightly.
"Now we all have to present our power and the portal will open up to us," Jason explained.
Jason went first. He concentrated and unlocked a hidden lock with his telekinesis. The middle of the door began to glow brighter. Then he motioned for Katia to go next. She lifted her hand and raised a ball of water from the bathroom and threw it against the circle. The circle glowed even brighter. Finally Nathan went. He summoned a gust of wind and blew it against the door. Again, the circle glowed even brighter.
Jason reached for the handle, and as soon as he touched it, the light from the center began to spread out along the carvings. He opened the door and stepped in. Katia followed after him with Nathan bringing up the rear.
When her foot stepped inside the closet, a bright light flashed before her eyes. She shut them tightly and felt Nathan place a comforting hand on her arm. Then she felt like she was spinning and falling, getting that ticklish feeling in her stomach. After a couple of moments, everything froze and Katia felt her feet touch solid ground. She lost her balance, but Nathan caught her before she could fall.
Katia looked up and gasped at the scene around her. They landed in a lush, green field in the middle of a circle of stones. Around her were tall, majestic mountains. She looked left and could see the blue ocean and to the right a huge forest that climbed the hills.
Katia heard a beautiful sound that was followed by a flock of creatures flying into the sky. They had feathers of all colors. They looked like giant birds but they had long, skinny legs and a giant feather for a tail. They stared at the three of them as they flew overhead towards the mountains.
A little further down was a small city nestled among the rocks and trees. Katia could make out many buildings made with ancient architecture with more modern building styles mixed in. The air was the freshest she had ever breathed and one thought entered her mind. She was in paradise.
"Welcome to Aevria!" Jason said with a smile and a wave of his hand.
The entire place looked surreal and Katia had to remind herself that she wasn't dreaming as they walked towards the city. The grass was a light green and the forest was made of towering trees. Most looked pretty normal but Katia spotted a couple of purple and blue trees here and there.
The ocean off to the side looked like any other ocean but Katia was sure underneath would be a whole different story. What interested her now was the city in the distance with the mountains behind them. It looked like an ancient city with touches of modernity here and there. Katia could see outlines of people walking but not much from this distance.
The three of them began to walk down the path while Jason and Nathan pointed out different things.
"Over there are where a lot of the unicorns like to run and sometimes you can see a Pegasus in the air. The Elicits who are good with animals are the only ones who can ride them," Jason pointed out as they walked.
"Then right there," Nathan said, pointing to their left, "is the Great Forest but most just call it the forest. A whole bunch of creatures live there. Most are friendly but there are some mean ones you have to watch out for. Just don't go in too deep and you should be fine."
"This is all so amazing!" Katia exclaimed. "I want to see everything."
"I can take you to the lake and ocean later," Nathan offered.
"Okay let's do it!" Katia said full of excitement.
"You're the first person to have a water power since mom, so no one has been able to go exploring down there for a while," Jason said.
"Are there any creatures down there?" Katia asked. She'd always liked snorkeling but this would be entirely different.
"Yeah there are mermaids, all sorts of fish, grindylows, Tiply, they're half fish and half snake, and I think there are giant seahorses there," Nathan answered.
"Mom made some of those discoveries," Jason said with a smile.
"Wow she was such a cool person," Katia said in wonder, wishing she could've known her better.
Finally they were beginning to approach the city. They entered through a magnificent gate made of marble and multicolored crystal. There were two golden statues on each side of the gate. They reminded Katia of the Roman ones she saw in her textbook. As they passed, the statues turned their heads to look at them, and Katia jumped back in surprise.
"Those are just the guards. They won't harm you unless they think you're a danger or a Hunter," Jason assured her.
They continued on. As they were walking, they passed by some training courses. Katia saw people running along an intense obstacle course with rocks being thrown at them and a pool with giant piranhas.
Katia stopped to watch a small girl who looked about thirteen cross the course. She had no idea how the little girl could pass all of that. When she reached the water, she merely touched it and all of the piranhas died. Nathan noticed Katia staring in amazement at the girl.
"That's Priya. She's only thirteen but she can take down anyone twice her size. She's pretty good with electricity and can basically shoot out lightning," Nathan informed Katia.
"She's so fast and skilled! I could barely lift some water," Katia said. She didn't realize how behind she was. She basically missed an entire lifetime of training.
"Well that's not bad for only discovering your power two days ago," Nathan said, comforting Katia. "When I first found out about my powers I totally lost control, and I was only three. I was flying around the house crazily and it was trashed."
Katia smiled she imagined Nathan as a little boy bouncing along the walls of the house.
"Yeah don't worry, sis. I'm sure in a month you could lift a whole fishbowl of water," Jason teased Katia.
"Shut up!" Katia said but she was laughing. "For your information, I lifted a whole fountain today."
"Wow you're not as bad as I thought," Jason said actually looking a little impressed.
"Thanks," Katia said sarcastically while Nathan just laughed at their banter.
They walked some more past the various obstacle courses. They also passed by some of the training courses, and Jason and Nathan pointed some things out.
"These are the training courses. They're made specifically for each power so you can strengthen it," Jason explained.
Katia looked over and saw in shock some Elictis being lit on fire and some going in ice cold water.
"Don't worry. They can withstand extreme temperatures like Asher. They're just trying to increase their tolerance," Nathan assured her when he saw her horrified expression.
"Okay good I got a little worried there," Katia laughed. She didn't want to be set on fire anytime soon.
As they walked towards the center of the city, she noticed more training fields. In one, an instructor was naming certain animals and objects and the Elictis would have to transform themselves. In another there were people lifting all sorts of objects with their telekinesis.
"Is that your field?" Katia asked Jason.
"Yup, I can lift a ton and about a hundred objects at once if I really focus," Jason said proudly.
"Wow you're not so bad," Katia joked, still not forgetting about a while ago.
"That's what I hear," Jason countered back.
"So are most people here in their teens?" Katia wondered. As they were going through the city, she didn't see any adults besides the instructors.
"Most are but right now we're on the edge of town where all of the training goes on. A lot of the adults do their own things, but they come out from time to time," Nathan answered.
"A lot of them live in the city and start families. Others go out in the world," Jason added. He didn't mention how there used to be a lot more people before the battles with Akur greatly decreased their numbers.
"Okay we're finally here!" Jason, warding the dark thoughts away. "Let's introduce you to Saladin and the other guardians."
They were finally in the center of the city. There were all sorts of buildings with different styles of architecture from different times. Some looked distinctly Greek while others had Chinese influences. The deeper they got, the older the style. It was like a melting pot of every age, but it all seemed to work together.
Jason led them to a fancy building with high pillars at the end of the main street. The doors looked like they were made of pure gold and they opened by themselves to let them enter. However the inside was not what Katia was expecting. Inside it looked like a Japanese garden. It even had the pond, small stream with a bridge, maple trees, and little turtles and koi.
"Wow I like this look," Nathan said looking around.
"Have you never been here?" Katia asked, confused.
"I have, but the last time I was here the whole floor was made of trampolines and there were ropes to swing on. It was a lot of fun," Nathan said.
"Whoever owns this building can change its interior at will," Jason explained since Katia still looked confused. "And since Saladin owns it, he can change it anytime."
They walked through the paths and over a couple of bridges. Katia noticed other Elicits just sitting around within the garden.
"I thought this was Saladin's home," Katia stated.
"It is but he lets anyone come in and hang out. He's a fun and easygoing guy. You'll love him," Nathan said.
They passed over one more bridge and into a small clearing surrounded by trees. In the middle, sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, sat Saladin. He had gray hair and was small, probably barely taller than Katia.
"Hello Jason and Nathan. And you must be Katia," Saladin said without even opening his eyes.
"How did he--?" Katia asked.
"He can tell the future and read minds, pretty much making him the wisest person in Aevria," Jason answered.
That's so cool, Katia thought. I wish I could read minds.
"Thanks Katia but it can get pretty annoying at times and some people have pretty bad thoughts," he said with a knowing smirk, finally opening his eyes to look at them. Katia blushed and smiled sheepishly.
"I was going to introduce you to Katia but I guess that's not necessary," Jason said jokingly.
"Nah, introductions are boring and they take too much time. Plus no one knows what to say after they're done. But I guess you should meet these two," Saladin said, motioning to an older man and middle aged woman talking behind him.
The two of them walked over and smiled at Katia. "Hello, I'm Lamonte," the man said.
"And I'm Yelena," the woman told her kindly. "We're the other two guardians."
Katia smiled, but found out that Saladin was right. She didn't really know what to say. Nice to meet you didn't seem good enough.
Saladin laughed and gave Katia a knowing look. He winked and broke the silence for her. "And I'm assuming you wanted to ask about the Hunters."
"Yeah you guessed right again," Jason replied.
"Well the Hunters will naturally attack the more powerful ones more frequently," Saladin said while Lamonte and Yelena stood next to him. "Nathan probably sees a Hunter twice a week while you Jason only see one every other week."
"It's like an insult and good thing at the same time," Jason muttered with a pout.
"Don't worry, you can help me if I get attacked more," Katia assured Jason with a smile. He just rolled his eyes at her.
"You have a very generous sister, Jason," Saladin joked. "As I was saying, Katia will get attacked more because of her strong power. Still she shouldn't have gotten attacked two days in a row. My guess is that because her enchantment broke on her eighteenth birthday, she's sending off a stronger signal to the Hunters. They're going to go after you for some time so I suggest staying here for a while to train and so you'll be safe."
"Okay," Katia agreed. If that's what would happen then she'd happily stay here. "But I don't know what training I'm supposed to do."
"I'll have a training course set up for you, get an instructor, and find you a room in one of the cabins. You'll probably be by where Nathan trains since you guys need a lot of room. He can show you the way."
Nathan smiled at this and Saladin raised his eyebrows and gave Nathan a knowing look. Nathan cleared his throat and looked away.
"Thank you. We should probably get going now," Jason said.
"Okay, thanks a lot Saladin," Katia said with a smile. She waved at Lamonte and Yelena.
With that, the three of them turned and exited Saladin's home. As soon as they set foot outside, Katia heard four high chimes ring through the air from somewhere she couldn't see.
"Yes dinner! You'll love it. They have the best food ever!" Nathan said, dragging Katia away towards the outdoor picnic area a couple of blocks away and further into this new world.