Power Revealed (The Elementers) (17 page)

“Hi,” Justin’s face heated up.

“How are your hands?” Raven said looking from his face to his hands.

“Your hands?” Mr. Hamilton asked.

Raven looked up at Mr. Hamilton. “He burned them picking up a hot fire extinguisher when coming to help Nikki and I.” She reached out to lift Justin’s hands to look at them, but just before touching him she suddenly stopped and pulled back her arms. “How are they feeling?”

“They’re fine. It’s no big deal.” Justin’s hands actually woke him up a couple times during the night when he rolled over and bumped them. But he wasn’t going to admit that and make Raven feel guilty.

“At least you used the fire extinguisher near the end,” Mr. Hamilton said. “The news article just makes you sound like a foolish hero, instead of someone with supernatural powers.”

“They said I was foolish?” Justin said.

“No,” Raven spoke up. “I read it this morning. They said you were a hero. Thanks again for saving our lives.”

“Oh, no big deal.”

 “It was my life and I consider that a very big deal. But Mr. Hamilton is right. You shouldn’t have risked exposing yourself.”

“What? Do you think I was going to just stand there and hope the firemen arrived before you burned to a crisp?”

“That’s what everyone else did.” Raven looked down.

“I’m not everyone else.”

Raven lifted her face, looked intently into Justin’s eyes, and smiled. “Yes, I’ve noticed. I’m glad you’re—you.” Raven’s words struck Justin deep. He couldn’t say a word and just looked at her trying to determine her sincerity. But it was clear she meant it. No one had ever said that to him. Not even Henry, though Justin knew he felt that way. Justin was brought out of his thoughts by Raven’s voice. “But you can’t give the Council any more reasons to be scared of you. Please.”

Justin swallowed and tried to seem nonchalant. “How about you stay out of trouble and I’ll keep my powers to myself.”

“Okay.” Raven grinned, but Justin could see her look of concern as she climbed into the jeep.

Chapter 25

Justin had been looking forward to a long drive with Raven, but his backside was relieved to finally exit the jeep after bouncing around on a bunch of pot-holed back roads for almost an hour.  He began to think they’d never reach Anya’s place. The small, stone house they pulled up in front of looked to be as old as some of the nearby towering trees. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but after Raven’s comment about Anya’s house, he definitely expected—more. When Mr. Hamilton and Raven ignored the front door and walked around behind the cabin, Justin thought it odd but he followed them.

“Where are we going?” Justin finally asked after walking for at least a minute along a dirt path in the forest.

“Anya’s home,” Mr. Hamilton said over his shoulder.

“Uh, didn’t we just pass it?” Justin asked.

“No. That’s her fake house.”

“Fake house? Why would someone have a fake house?”

“You’ll see,” Mr. Hamilton said while continuing further into the forest.

“David!” Anya’s voice called out as they reached deeper into the forest. Justin looked around, but couldn’t see anyone other than Mr. Hamilton and Raven. “Come on up.”

A rope ladder suddenly dropped out of the sky only 20 feet in front of them. Justin’s neck snapped upwards and he peered into the tree canopy. As Justin surveyed the view above, he began to notice branches shaped in an unusual fashion. They seemed to curve and wrap around each other to form the floor, walls, and roof of the most amazing tree house he had ever seen. A huge grin spread across his face. “No way.” He’d always dreamed of having a tree house, but he’d never dreamed of one this incredible.

“Justin. Come check out the view.” Raven’s voice broke through his thoughts causing him to notice that she was already half way up the ladder. He climbed up the ladder and poked his head through a large opening in the floor of the tree house.

A tall woman with long, wavy red hair offered her hand and pulled Justin up into the tree house. As she stood up, small braids plaited along each side of her hair swung back and forth. Bright turquoise beads at the end of each braid contrasted brightly with her vibrant red hair. Her fitted, black pants and shirt set off the radiance of her hair even further. She seemed to survey him up and down measuring him on the spot and then beamed with a smile that seemed to say something that was unreadable to him. “Hi, Justin. Welcome to my home.”

“Thanks. Your home’s awesome. How’d you build it?”

“I didn’t build it. I grew it.”

“What?” Up close, he could see large branches intertwined with one another to form the load bearing structure with smaller branches filling in to provide delicate shape and design to the home. But these weren’t logs. Justin couldn’t find a single cut end. He followed a few branches, but they curved and wrapped around until he lost track of them. “Wow. You’ve given new meaning to the term ‘home grown’. How’d you do it?”

“Slowly. Even large trees like these can only be encouraged to grow so fast without causing long term damage. But Tree Elementers can help speed things along while still nurturing the tree. I love living up here and feeling free. Besides, the zip line down is a rush.”

“Why do you have that old house at the road if you live in this amazing place?” Justin asked.

“This one doesn’t exactly meet building codes and I’d gain more attention than I’d want if others saw it. We need to maintain our secret and that requires a low profile. So the stone house is for use when I have non-Elementers show up. But otherwise, I live here. It is a bit of a walk, but it’s worth it.”

“I’ll say,” Justin said.

“Lunch is ready.” A girl with spiky, short blonde hair bounced down a set of stairs leading to an upper level. Justin guessed it was Katie. She looked to be a year or two older than him. She gave Raven a hug. “Hey, Raven.”

Introductions were made and Anya suggested, “Let’s head upstairs. The view is fantastic from there. The food should be great. Katie’s good for something besides confusing new Tree Elementers into thinking they’re talking to a tree.” Anya gave Katie a parental look that clearly said that Katie still hadn’t been entirely forgiven for confusing Justin.

After finishing most of his lunch, Justin finally got up the nerve to ask one of the questions he’d been wanting to ask for some time. “So, what’s the deal with energy overloads when Elementers touch?”

“What do you mean?” Anya asked.

“Whenever Elementers touch. Energy seems to shoot into you and...other things happen.”

“What are you talking about?” Mr. Hamilton said.

Justin looked at Raven, but she stared at her plate and her cheeks were flushed. “Raven, you explain it.”

Raven raised her eyes to Justin. “You mean you felt it too?”

“Of course, I felt it. Don’t Elementers always feel it when they touch?” Justin said.

“Uh, no. I’ve never felt it till you.”

“Felt what?” Mr. Hamilton said.

“A surge of energy and—” Justin felt the heat rush into his face too.

“And what?” Mr. Hamilton repeated. When Justin hesitated to answer, Mr. Hamilton turned to Raven. “What is he talking about?”

Raven spoke in a quiet voice. “Each time we touch, a strange type of energy flows into me and I feel—” Raven slowly turned to look at Justin.

“What do you feel?” Anya asked, but Raven was suddenly mute. “Justin?” Anya asked.

“Uh, it feels like—” Justin looked at the others. “You mean none of you feel stuff when you touch?”

“You haven’t really told us what happens. But no, touching another Elementer doesn’t automatically cause energy to flow between us like you’re describing,” Anya said.

“Then why does it happen when Raven and I touch?”

“I don’t know. Does it happen when you touch other Elementers?” Anya said.

“Uh, I don’t think I’ve ever tried,” Justin said.

“Now I’m curious,” Katie spoke and reached out to touch Justin’s hand.

Justin placed his hand in hers and waited for the energy surge. “Um, nothing’s happening. Do you feel anything?” Justin said.

“No energy and no
feelings
,” Katie playfully emphasized the last word.

“Why don’t you show us what you mean?” Anya said.

Justin wished he had never brought up the question. Admittedly, he really wanted to connect again with Raven and see if he felt those things another time. But in front of an audience? Oh well, he started this, so he laid his hand on the table with his palm up in invitation. Raven hesitantly placed her hand in his and the energy erupted. It reminded Justin of a volcano. The heat immediately shot into his body, energizing him. He noticed Raven’s upper body jerk, probably from the shot of the energy. Justin felt Raven grip his hand tighter. It hurt a little because of the burns on his hand from the fire extinguisher, but the urge to be near her was stronger than the pain. He unconsciously shifted forward in his chair and was thrilled when she also moved closer and her leg brushed his. Justin’s other hand found its way across the table and he began stroking the back of her hand with his fingers. He felt a crazy urge to touch Raven’s face, but when he looked up at Raven he noticed she had a different look on her face. She looked alarmed and she seemed to be having trouble breathing. Seeing that the connection might be harming her, he forced himself to lift away his hand on top and released his grip with the other. Unfortunately, Raven had a vice grip on his hand.

“Justin, let go of her.” Mr. Hamilton stood up.

“I’m trying to, but she won’t let go.” Justin grabbed his free hand and tried to pull Raven’s hand away. “She has a death grip.” Justin continued to try to pry off her fingers, but they felt like they were welded in place. “Raven. Let go of my hand. It’s hurting you,” Justin called out to no avail.

Perspiration began rolling down Raven’s reddened face. Her eyes were wide open, but she seemed to be oblivious to everyone else. Her breathing became even more ragged. Justin looked up at Mr. Hamilton across the table. “Help me! I’m hurting her. Grab hold of her hand and I’ll pull,” Justin said.

Mr. Hamilton hurried to the other side of the table just in time to catch Raven as she passed out and collapsed on her chair. “Raven. Are you okay?” Mr. Hamilton gently lowered her onto the floor. “Raven, can you hear me?”

After a few moments, Raven’s eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

By this time, Anya had also circled around the table and knelt next to Raven. “When you and Justin touched, the energy flow between the two of you was too much for your body and you fainted.”

Justin tried to hide his worry for Raven with a joke. “I tried to stop it, but you wouldn’t release your grip. You’re the first girl to ever refuse to let go of my hand.”

Raven looked up at him. “I don’t remember.”

“David, help Raven over to the couch,” Anya said.

“So what was that?” Katie asked Anya as they sat down in what seemed to be the living room of the tree house.

Anya shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I felt the energy flowing in both of them, and like Raven said, it felt strange. I think it was all four elements mixing together at once.”

“Wait. How can that be? Justin may be able to access all four elements, but Raven can’t,” Katie said.

Anya reached out and touched Justin’s arm, but nothing happened. “The connection seems to be unique to Justin and Raven. I’m guessing it’s due to Raven’s talent for connectedness. I think when she touches Justin she connects Justin up to his full potential to access all the energy. But when she does so, she’s exposes herself to all four elements at the same time.”

Anya looked at Justin. “Ever since I heard about you, I’ve been thinking about why you can access all the elements. A normal Elementer receives and sends their energy through what we often describe as a narrow tunnel or tube. We maintain the connection by focusing the energy within a narrow path. A path that is specific to a particular element. Even Wind Elementers manage the energy by focusing it. But it seems to be different for you. When you connected to the elements with Raven, you seemed to access the energies all around you. That’s probably why you can access all four elements.”

Anya continued, “Because we channel through tunnels, we can handle only so much energy at once. If we receive too much at a time, it can back up and cause an explosion within us. It has happened to Elementers before and they’ve lost their gift. The Council has sometimes destroyed the connection to those who broke the rules by simply overloading the Elementer with energy. But if I’m right, you have a much greater capacity to handle high loads of energy because the energy just flows around you. Raven can’t handle the non-Earth elements, but on top of that, the amount of energy flowing through her was simply too much.”

“Raven, until you can figure out how to limit your connection with Justin or Justin can learn to manage the amount and type of energy he accesses, the two of you need to maintain some personal space for the time being. Okay? Justin could burn your connection out.” They both nodded from opposite sides of the room.

Chapter 26