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“It is all I can do to hold in all this power. I am about to blow and release all the power back to the Fire dragons. It feels like it will be fiery. I need to be around water to contain the blast. Now hurry, I can’t move.”
Talon scooped her up and ran through the gate. He made a mad dash to a cliff when they stumbled through the other side. He dropped her down on the very edge and backed off. The rest of her friends ran up to meet them and Talon gestured them back.
“Where is Ember?” Araiya asked.
“Here, Young Mother.” Ember walked through the small group as even more dragons met them at the cliff.
“Are there any other Fire dragons in Water?”
“No, Young Mother. Just me that I know of.”
“I will need your help, Ember. Something happened, and you need to tell me when enough is enough. I don’t know how much has to go back.”
“Of course, I will help, but I am confused. How much of what?”
“Look Ember, she doesn’t have enough time or concentration to explain. Just tell her when you are full, okay?” Talon guided Ember a few steps closer.
Ember nodded and turned back to Araiya expectantly. Everyone else was motioned back. Araiya closed her eyes; the element was burning her insides. All this power was curling around her entire soul. In her mind’s eye she could see the elements inside her. Spirit was a large purple cord wrapped around her soul. Fire’s red cord was just as large overlapping Spirit in certain places. Thinner ribbons of Air’s yellow and Earth’s green wrapped around but split off and stretched outward toward their elemental. Fire and Spirit stayed with her. She was now the stand-in Fire elemental, just as she was the Spirit elemental with form. She took a stuttering breath, overcome by the amount of power in her tiny form. It was too much. Araiya opened her mouth to call out, but a scream ripped from her body as fire spewed from her mouth.
The gathered called out in shock, and Ember staggered forward a step. Araiya screamed again, raised her hand toward the Fire dragon, and released a ribbon of red toward her. The ribbon of flame flew toward Ember and opened her arms. The fire curled around Ember and settled into her and vanished. Ember let out a laugh and said it was more than enough.
Araiya lifted her hands toward the sky and released a geyser of fire. The flames darted every direction, flowing toward another Fire dragon waiting for power to return from the elemental. Araiya looked toward Talon in a panic.
“It wasn’t enough, I feel them all and it wasn’t enough. Talon where is Water? I need him.” Panic flashed in Araiya’s eyes as she looked around. She looked over the cliff’s edge and took her first glance at the ocean.
“The Water elemental is down there Araiya. Usually, we give thanks at the ocean’s edge; no one but Water dragons and Chosen meet the actual heart. All we know is that it is down deep. I am sorry, but this is as far as I could take you.”
“It is okay, thank you. Make sure everyone is back.” Araiya turned and smiled as her eyes glowed red. She took one deep breath and threw her head back. A large column of flame flew up into the early morning sky. It could be seen from leagues away. Araiya screamed once more as she backed off the cliff and flew toward the water waiting below. She heard a bellow of anguish right before she hit the water.
She hit the water feet first, and the fire flowing from her mouth shut off as water closed over her head. Araiya knew to take a deep breath before she went under, and now that the fire had stopped, she was able to look around. It was still quite clear this close to the surface. She could make out fish and plants around her. She turned a full circle looking for any indication of where she should go. Finally, she spotted a deep blue light coming from the deeper, darker part of the water under her. Without a second thought she started swimming deeper and deeper. The light was getting closer to her, so she must be close.
Her breath started to fail her, and her swimming faltered. She looked to the surface and quickly realized she wouldn’t make it back up with her remaining air. She turned back to the light and figured she might as well go for it. The elemental wouldn’t allow her to die, right?
She kept swimming deeper and deeper, keeping her eye on the light. That was until she felt something bump into her leg. She quickly turned and looked around but could see nothing in the darkness. Her lungs were failing, so she turned back and started swimming harder for the light, but something bumped into her again. She whipped around again, saw a fin swimming away, and panicked. It was stupid of her to think she wouldn’t die in the freaking ocean. Sure, she had magic, but animals didn’t give two fucks about how much fire you could spit, especially when you’re surrounded by the one thing that can put it out. She brought her hand up towards her face and focused fire into her hand. No flame appeared but her hand gave off a small light to see by. She smiled and looked up from her hand only to see a colossal shark waiting just outside the glow of her hand. Araiya screamed and tried to swim backward. The shark started to circle her, and Araiya started to panic slowly. Her scream made her lose the rest of her air. She was about to get eaten by a fish with a million teeth and she still had so much she wanted to do with her life… like have sex.
The giant shark darted towards her, and she closed her eyes and braced for impact and nothing. Nothing happened. What the fuck. She slowly peeked out her eyes and saw the shark next to her, slowly bumping her with its fin. Almost like it wanted her to grab on. She slowly reached her hand out to the fin, and when the shark didn’t react, she reached up to the fin on the sharks back and held on. The shark darted away toward the light faster than she could have ever hoped to move.
The shark swam her down to the light. As she got closer, she could see the light coming from inside a cave, and the shark swam down to the floor. Getting closer Araiya saw a shimmer around the cave. The shark swam as close to the cave as it could due to its size and she let go. The shark swam away after a parting bump toward the cave. Araiya swam closer to the cave and her hand breached the shimmer. She continued forward and stepped into an air bubble. She took a heaving breath, and she stumbled the first few steps.
She turned back and saw the ocean being held back by absolutely nothing. She touched her fingertip toward the invisible barrier and her hand passed through back into the sea. She felt the flow through her fingers. She turned around and went into the cave.
She walked into the cave following the light. She walked deeper and came to an almost perfectly circular cave. In the center was a beautiful rock formation, teeming with life. The light was coming from the living stone, and Araiya walked up to it. Araiya knew this must be the element’s heart, so she leaned over and laid her forehead on the stone.
Hello Young Mother, you came a long way to visit with me. Most young Chosen come to the edge of my element and give thanks.
I needed to make a direct connection with you, I am sorry to intrude, but Firwyn said I had to come directly to you.
Firwyn, I felt her life force go out. Do you know what happened?
The Chosen were all in Fire when the Darkness came. Once he broke through the portal he came after us. Firwyn fought off the darkness so all of us could escape, but the Darkness latched on to her power and started draining it. So, she shielded us and then transferred her remaining power to me.
Firwyn gave you the kiss of power. She must have been scared.
She didn’t sound scared, just defeated and tired. She was worried about her dragons, but not for herself.
So now you control Spirit and hold the total weight of Fire as well. That will be taxing. You can draw on the other elements to help you balance Fire’s temper and passion.
I couldn’t control anything when I got to the cliff. I exploded into fire. I had to dive off the cliff just to get into the water.
Interesting, you shouldn’t need to expel any excess power. You would just feed it to the dragons. Something else must be amiss.
Firwyn said that darkness had marked me and was siphoning my power to control me. She told me to come to you to be cleansed and that the Enforcers will train me on keeping the Darkness out of my mind.
She was always a clever girl. Let me take a look. It will take a while, so sit beside my reef and keep skin contact.
Araiya sat down with her back pressed against the reef. Exhausted again from the swim and the slow draining of her power she drifted to sleep, safe on the ocean floor.