Children of the Elementi (16 page)

Finding no indigenous life they moved the entire city. It took ten years of preparation but only ten minutes to transport it. For the entire first year of the preparations they had lived in the cave before building temporary houses above ground.

In time they had children. Jake couldn’t help but feel for them. They were able to do things that before would have been impossible. The children could forecast the weather, find metals to mine or read minds. These children were able to hide it at the beginning but as they got stronger it became more difficult. The Elders of the city found out and cast them out. Even with all their science, they were still afraid of what they didn’t understand.

The children were called freaks and worse. Jake felt their distress as if it was happening now. The crystals recorded emotions as well as memories. Ostracized by their families and neighbors, they had to leave and build a life away from everything they had known.

Forty years passed in a blink of an eye, he saw the original civilization begin to die. The planet wasn’t as compatible as they first thought. Something prevented them from having children. Eventually the city lights grew dim.

The children of the caves as they became known were the only people left. Those caves, Jake realized were where it all began - it had somehow changed the parents but made the children adaptable to the world. Evolution at work, Jake recognized.

In his mind’s eye, the pictures became clearer as the Matrix bonded fully with the humans. He saw the city die and the children forget. The civilization soon reverted to feudalism; the strongest and the most powerful became the leaders while the weakest were reduced to slavery. At the back of their minds the Matrix dwelt and grew until it was able to make contact.

It drew five children with the greatest talents and the cleverest minds back to the cave. Without knowing why they each took a crystal from the hundreds littering the floor. Their minds inexplicably fused with the crystals creating an unbreakable link with the Matrix mind.

It showed them how to find the abandoned city, taking them through a disused path from one of the nearest islands. They returned to their families and brought them to live in the city. A hundred years later they emerged once again into the world. A powerful combination was born, Atlantean science mixed with Matrix technology - the Elementi.

As the images died, Jake once again concentrated on the feel of power that would link him to the last member of the Firelli family. Finding the thread, he tweaked it until the sound of the vibrations filled his senses. Floating out of his body he moved upwards away from the Citadel. He quickly passed the upper floors and noted the Spartan interiors until he reached the outer wall. The force-field prickled his awareness as he went through, breaking into the water of the ocean. A matter of moments and he was out under the cloudless night sky.

In the Control Room Jake’s body collapsed. Karl leapt forward.

“What’s wrong with him?” He demanded.

Mirim rolled her eyes.

“Nothing, he’s just out of his body. He’ll come back.”

“You could have at least warned him to sit down! What kind of person are you?”

Mirim ignored him.

Rotating slowly in the air Jake tried to locate the now familiar feel of the Fire element. It wasn’t there. Confused he looked up the coordinates of where the power was last used. Finding them quickly, he focused on the numbers and sped towards them, letting the Matrix guide him.

He sped over the water only slowing down when he reached a port. Passing over he could see small fishing boats teeming with fish. People were running to and fro carrying huge baskets of the fish on to dry land, while still larger nets of fish were hauled on to the docks with ropes.

Passing the port he carried on through. This was Naven, he recalled from the Matrix meld, the capital city of Eleria. It wasn’t a large city, he noted, not compared to London or even Cardiff or Edinburgh, but as there were no roads and motorways it left plenty of room for more buildings. The tallest houses were just three stories high. The shorter ones nearest the port were made of wood, the grander houses further in were made out of some local yellow stone.

To the right of the city lay the castle. Settling on a rooftop a few streets away, Jake paused. It was not safe to go any further. How would the fire element have survived in the Magi stronghold? It didn’t make sense.

He reached out for the vestiges of the Fire Element again. It wasn’t there now. If the fire element was on earth and Aras had grabbed him, he would have been taken here for sure. According to the schematics the Matrix held, there were prisons underneath. If he were able to use enough power to make the console glow, maybe he would have enough power to escape? He needed to get back. He rose from the building and followed the silvery thread of power back to his body.

Shenella woke up early. Grabbing the cloth she had placed carefully over the subdued glass bowl beside the bed, she pulled it gently towards her. A mellow purple light emanated through the room. This was so strange but yet so familiar. She must have been underwater before. How else she could explain how calm she was?

Someone had thoughtfully placed a set of clothes made of sea grass at the end of the bed while she slept. Picking them up she saw they were blue trousers and a small blue top similar to those she had seen the day before. As if she didn’t feel and look foreign enough she was now dressed in a different color to everyone else.

She had just finished tying her hair back when Sori walked in. ‘
Are you ready for breakfast?
’

‘
I feel like I’m ready for anything. What do you eat?
’ She laughed nervously.

‘
We’re vegetarians. Don’t worry, we don’t eat fish!
’

Getting up from the bed edge she followed him outside. As she stepped past the door she started sinking rapidly. She suddenly remembered they were at the top of a canyon! They were in the sea of course they didn’t need streets. Kicking her legs she stabilized. Sori, laughing at her swam down to join her.

‘
You forgot where we were didn’t you! Come on, let’s go and eat.
’

He swam slowly so she could keep up, but she was still tired by the time they arrived at a large hall. She’d forgotten to use the crystal.

Although it looked the same as the rest, the room had a series of rounded doors and windows visible from the outside; this one did not have any curtains. Men and women sat on long low tables on the lower floor while stairs led up to a long gallery where the food was laid out. Sori took her upstairs and helped her choose.

Shenella felt awkward swimming with a bowl of food but she followed Sori’s lead and held the bowl with her hand covering the opening so the vegetation wouldn’t fall out. He led her to the corner and they sat by a window that overlooked the canyon. Outside the same mixture of greens and yellows from the climbing plants still glowed and every now and then people swam past, some in couples, some in small groups.

What now
? She thought. She couldn’t go back; Aras would kill her. Even if he hadn’t found out that she was Elementi royalty, he would still kill her for running away. Despair filled her. Sori saw her distress and put his arm around her.

‘
It’ll be all right, Shenella.
’

At the main doors there was a stir as the reception committee she saw last night came in. They were dressed differently from the previous evening, wearing more colors. When they saw Sori and Shenella, they made their way straight to their table.

Their grim faces were the first things that Shenella noticed when they sat down. Sitting up straighter in response she waited to hear what they had to say.

‘
We’ve just had word back. Aras is furious. It’s official; he’s declared war on us. But if what Sori said is true,
’ the Kinar looked Shenella in the eyes, ‘
the High-King may be coming back. Aras has taken to his bed. The priests think his renewed illness means the High-King has arrived on Eleria. However, even with just the High-King and the Water Queen, it may still be possible to unseat Aras and send the Magi back to the Dark Continent. Will you help us?
’

Shenella paused, fork halfway to her lips. Of course she would help. There wasn’t much else she could do. Her whole life was built on a lie. She needed to get revenge for the death of her parents. She couldn’t remember her real parents clearly, but she recalled the love and the agony of her father’s death and her foster parents’ ‘accident’ was still fresh in her mind, even after two years.

Her decision shone in her eyes. ‘
Yes!
’

Chero looked relieved. ‘
You will want to go to the temple. I’m not sure if your parents will have taken you there before, but you will need it to contact the High-King. If he is here you will be able to talk to him. Finish your meal and Sori will take you. He is your high priest as well as your ambassador.
’ Shenella twisted to look at Sori. He grinned shamefaced.

‘
Didn’t I tell you?
’

Slotting back into his body, Jake came to with Kiera and Mirim looking down at him concerned.

“I couldn’t find him,” he said. “The trail went cold - I’m exhausted.” Jake pushed himself up and stretched, “How long was I gone?”

“Only about an hour, I’ve brought some maps in from another room. We can combine our minds and do a search using it - if you are feeling up to it?”

“Mirim, no offence but I need a break. It’s night, I’m tired, you’re tired and I can see that Kiera is tired too. There must be some bedrooms around here; it used to house a complete city!”

Mirim shrugged. “All right.”

She put the maps down and carefully placed them on a shelf next to the door.

“Follow me.”

The main control room led off to several apartments. The first five were the largest. A couple of the other doors were open and he could see they were smaller and empty. They must have either converted it from several apartments to make them bigger or made smaller he thought. Either way it wasn’t a coincidence there was one for each of the five Royal Houses.

Jake peered into Kiera’s room before she closed the door. It seemed they liked to color code. Hers was green as his had rich cream and white fabrics.

“You’d think the family would use the opportunity to use other colors” he joked to Karl as they entered the High-King’s apartment.

“They probably needed the color schemes to tell them apart.” He replied opening a cupboard door. “Where am I going to sleep?”

Mirim stood behind them, “I wasn’t expecting anyone else, but there is another room which the servants used behind there.” She pointed to a door Jake and Karl had missed in their quick inspection. Karl waited before the door closed.

“Charming. Bossy isn’t she?”

“Yeah, probably not used to people.” Jake thought about the loneliness he felt during their merge.

“Did you just hear her, she probably thinks of me as a bleeding servant.”

“Ignore her.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re one of them. Clearly I can’t look after myself. My sword fighting is better than yours, and I did go to Judo for two weeks.”

Jake and Karl looked at each other for a moment before Jake raised an eyebrow at the thought. There was a second of quiet before they both burst into laughter.

“Imagine getting her in an arm lock.” gulped Karl.

“I think that’s wrestling,” snorted Jake, “but she could probably do with it.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: WATER QUEEN

Adramelech hung in no-space, consumed by thoughts. The boy must have felt the fire element. To get to him all he had to do was to appear somewhere and his natural form would do the rest. There was only one problem with this plan. The boy would be wondering why he couldn’t track him before.

He would have to appear by a volcano he decided. Ironic, after setting one off on Earth, he was going to use the same one on Eleria. That was what was so great about interdimensional travel he mused. If you knew roughly where something was in one world there was a high percentage chance it would be there in most of the dimensions.

Actually no, he changed his mind. He would need a more active volcano than that one and there was only one active volcano in this part of the world. Decision made, he returned to normal space and time.

The next morning Jake woke up to Mirim banging on the door.
That girl is keen,
he thought.

“Okay, Okay!”

Picking up his clothes from the floor he dressed quickly and rushed to the control room. “What’s the rush?”

Kiera walked in from another door sleepy-eyed.

“I used the crystals to scout the city, and they know you are here. Your presence in Eleria is making Aras even more ill. They know where we are! They’re preparing their army!” Mirim burst out in a rush.

Kiera looked confused, “Slow down, slow down. How did you get to Eleria?”

Mirim sat down heavily on the chair by her console. “We’re in Eleria. The capital is called Naven. I went there the same way Jake did last night. I astral projected. I was listening to one of his advisers, and I don’t know how but he knew I was there! I came back as soon as I realized but I found out that Aras followed you back last night. He’s able to leave his body too. It is the only way he can cope with the pain. He must have sensed you and followed you back.”

Mirim’s voice rose, “No one has known where the Citadel is for thousands of years, apart from the five families. You’re back for one night and the Magi know exactly where it is. Do you know what they could do with the power in this place?”

Jake shrugged, “So he knows exactly where we are. We’re underwater, right?” She nodded. “So how are they going to get to us?”

She rolled her eyes. “He may only be half an Elementi but his other half is Magi. They have the power of illusion and what they can’t do through illusion they have their armies and creatures they trap from other dimensions.”

“Eh, you never mentioned that before.”