The Elemental Read online

  From what she knew from her own research on time bending, timelines change all the time compared to the present’s events.

  The future certainly must have changed tremendously since Helia’s arrival spun things into motion. Elara sighed again, her mind wandering to her future as a Guardian.

  She had never envisioned herself pursuing a career as a Guardian, but she had certainly helped Miela out in the past by consulting on a few cases.

  Elara thought back to the thick research journal in her satchel from the future. The book which held so many answers.

  A loud knock sounded at the door, interrupting her thoughts. Elara turned her head curiously. It was late, and she certainly wasn’t expecting a visitor at this hour. Her mind jumped to the future’s events, and she froze, nervous.

  Did someone find something out?

  She thought quickly about Helia, who was slumbering away in her room. She internally reprimanded herself for being so careless and bringing the toddler out in public; had someone seen Helia and started asking questions? Or did someone find something out about the Aether Stone? Elara’s stomach turned, remembering the series of terrible events she witnessed just a few hours ago. The images of lifeless, battered, bloodied bodies filled her mind’s eye, and she felt her blood run cold.

  Another knock sounded against the door, this time, a little louder. Elara felt a cold sweat break out across her forehead, and she silently inched towards the door, trying not to make a sound. She knew it looked like she was home; her kitchen and living room lights were still on, and the glow from her little house’s windows definitely gave her away.

  She held her breath, her fingers trembling as she reached for the curtains beside the front door, trying to catch a peek at the late night visitor.

  A tall, muscular man stood in the darkness, tapping his foot as he raised his hand to knock once again. He nervously shuffled his feet together. She couldn’t make his face out in the darkness. She squinted, studying the man. The man knocked once more, seeming frustrated at the lack of response. He took his hat off to ruffle a hand through his hair

  A light went off in Elara’s head as she saw the outline of the man’s thick mop of curly hair. After today, she would recognize that mop of hair anywhere.

  “Argon,” Elara greeted, opening the front door.

  “Uh, hello,” Argon said stiffly, looking uncertain. “I hope I’m not intruding…”

  “You’re not,” said Elara. “But it is late.”

  “I… I know,” Argon admitted, looking down. “I wanted to speak with you.”

  Elara shifted uncertainly.

  Argon noticed her apprehension, and asked, “Do you mind if I come in? It should only take a moment.”

  “Sure.”

  Elara opened the door wider, letting him in. She tried to compose herself into a confident and relaxed stance, but the unusually high pitch her voice took belied her attempt to appear natural and at ease. She showed Argon to the living room and watched him sit down. He was still dressed in his Guardian uniform.

  Elara glanced down at herself and groaned internally. Her shirt had mostly dried from Helia’s bath, but the outline of the water stain was still fairly visible. Her hair was messily pulled back into a loose bun at the top of her head. She was pretty sure that she smelled a little, as she had yet to take a bath herself. She was definitely not prepared to accept company in this state.

  She closed her eyes, irritated when she caught herself mulling over how she looked. She shouldn’t have felt the need to dress up for anyone, let alone Argon. Besides, he was the one who had stopped by so late in the evening, completely unannounced. Elara hadn’t even realized that he knew where she lived. In fact, she wondered how he’d managed to find out.

  “So,” Argon spoke, inclining his head. Elara’s thoughts stopped abruptly at his voice, and she realized that they had been in silence for the past few minutes. She was still standing in her spot, while Argon was seated stiffly on her couch.

  “How was your day?” Elara asked, wincing at her question. She already knew how his day went; they had spent the majority of it with the Aether Stone. But she didn’t know what else to say to the man sitting in her living room.

  “It was fine,” Argon replied politely. He felt awkward. “How was yours?”

  “It was fine…”

  “So, where’s Helia?” Argon asked, attempting to pull them into a casual conversation.

  “She’s sleeping,” Elara replied. A small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. “The kid was completely wiped out after dinner.”

  “She must’ve had a long day,” Argon said. He chuckled lightly. “I know we had a long day ourselves.”

  “Yeah,” Elara agreed, feeling herself relax a little. “So…um…you wanted to speak to me about something?”

  Argon nodded. “Helia,” he said seriously. “I want to see her.”

  Elara felt her neck tense up with anxiety, and her mouth suddenly felt dry. She looked back at him for a moment. “I don’t know… I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “No, not now,” Argon explained quickly, putting his hands up. “I don’t want you to wake her up. I meant—”

  “I know,” Elara interrupted softly. “I know what you meant. I just…don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

  “But I’m her father,” Argon uttered, his voice turning hard.

  “I know,” whispered Elara. “But not exactly. You’re not the person she knows as ‘Dad.’”

  “You’re not the person she knows as ‘Mama,’” Argon shot back.

  “I know, but I’m what she has right now.”

  “I’m trying to also—”

  “I know,” Elara repeated. “And I appreciate that. But she’s confused. She was asking earlier about… well… She needs a constant—”

  “I want to be a constant,” Argon demanded. “Don’t you think she’s going to start having questions? Don’t you think she’s already confused?”

  “She is confused,” Elara confirmed. “But she’s adapting. She has no choice. And I don’t want to make it any harder on her than it has to be. God knows what effect the war had on her already. She needs consistency in her life. Safety. And I know she can find that with me,” Elara explained, her voice rising.

  “But not with me,” Argon said.

  “No,” she said honestly. “I want her to. I know she misses you. But it’s not you she misses. You’re not the same man we saw through the Aether Stone. You’re not who—”

  “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know,” said Elara. “That’s exactly it. I don’t know anything about you. That’s why I’m so uncomfortable with your getting involved.”

  “I’m her father,” Argon argued.

  “You are,” agreed Elara. “That’s why this is serious. You’re not just anyone to her. You’re her dad. This isn’t some toy you can just come in and decide you don’t want anything to do with one day, and want to be involved with the next. This is her life.”

  “How can you keep judging me for my initial reaction?” Argon thundered. “You can’t keep throwing that in my face to justify every point.”

  “You didn’t see the way she looked when you were basically spitting at the idea of being her father,” Elara interrupted, her nostrils flaring. “She didn’t understand what was going on, but she understood enough to know you didn’t want her.”

  Argon faltered, his face twisting with guilt. “It was a mistake,” he admitted angrily. “But she’s my kid. You all took great lengths to prove it. Why don’t you want me to be a part of her life?”

  “How do I know that you won’t just walk out?” Elara demanded. “You don’t know me. You don’t like my friends. You don’t like the people in Helia’s life. How do you think it could be good for her to see her parents constantly at each other’s throats?”

  “You’re the one constantly coming at mine!” Argon yelled.

  “Quiet, or you’ll wake her up,” Elara
ordered fiercely.

  “I hope I do,” Argon sneered. “It might be the only way I get to see her!”

  “How do you think you could be a parent to her if you don’t even care about her sleep? Or how she feels?”

  “How can you be a parent to her if you deny her her right to know her father?”

  “Are you ready to admit that you’re her father? Are you ready to take her home and show her to your mother? Your sister? Your family? Are you ready for everyone to know that she’s your child, and that I’m her mother? Being a parent, a committed parent, is a lot bigger than you think,” she said furiously, her lip curled.

  “You’re preaching about parenting when you’ve only had a couple days’ worth of experience?” Argon snorted. “You’re carting her off to be watched by friends half the time because you don’t have time to watch her.”

  “It’s not a bad thing to ask for help,” argued Elara defensively, her own guilt apparent on her face.

  “I’m offering to be that help. Isn’t her father a better option than someone else?” Argon crossed his arms.

  Elara sunk down onto the sofa across from him, taking a deep breath as angry tears filled and blurred her vision. Helia needed a mother who would always be there to protect her and take care of her, and she was committed to being that. Her future self entrusted her with that responsibility.

  But Argon also had a point.

  “Mama?” a small voice called. The two adults snapped their heads at the hallway, where the small child they were arguing over huddled in the corner, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

  Argon moved to get up from his seat, but Elara was faster, and moved towards the girl protectively to lead her back to her room, tucking her back into bed. The small girl murmured peacefully, rolling to her side and falling back into a deep slumber. Elara pressed a soft kiss against her forehead, softly brushing her hair away from her face.

  Something stirred inside her as she watched the toddler sleep. The child had seen so much horror, and lived through so much trauma during her short time on Earth. But looking at her softly snoring away, no one would have ever known. She deserved a peaceful life.

  And Elara was determined to give her one.

  She slowly crept out of her room and back to Argon in the living room, where he was still seated.

  “Can you take some time to think about this? Please?” Argon whispered.

  Elara nodded.

  Satisfied with her response, Argon saw himself out. Elara sat still, exhausted, overwhelmed, and confused. She closed her eyes as she heard the door shut behind Argon, taking a few steadying breaths before moving to get ready for bed.

  VICTIMS OF WAR

  “Are we all ready?” Noiro sat down on his usual spot, nursing a cup of hot tea.

  Miela, Elara, and Argon looked back at him from their seats. Elara rubbed her temples, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Try as she might, she had barely gotten any sleep the night before as anxiety riddled her mind at the thought of having to face more of what the Aether stone would reveal.

  A small noise caught her attention, and she turned her head towards the sound. “I’ll check on Helia before we begin,” said Elara, excusing herself from the sitting room. Noiro nodded and gestured towards the stairs, where Helia was napping away in her old room upstairs.

  “Have you found out anything back from headquarters?” Noiro asked Miela, attempting to break the tension in the room. No one was looking forward to using the Aether Stone again.

  Miela shook her head. “Not much so far. But I haven’t really had time to properly check through any open cases over the past few days,” she replied with a sigh. “Argon, any luck on your end?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve been hearing some buzz about Yun Zeru’s ranking as a Guardian, though.”

  Miela nodded. “That’s to be expected. We know he gets promoted to General—at least in the timeline we’re looking at.”

  “She’s still asleep,” Elara announced softly, coming down the stairs. “Are you sure we won’t wake her with the Aether Stone, Noiro?”

  Noiro nodded. “The time shadows should remain contained to the room the sundial is in. We’ll be fine. We just have to take care not to go past dark.”

  “Good thing we’re starting off early, then,” said Argon, casting a look outside the window. The sun was still rising in the cool morning air, and was barely peeking over the high castle walls around them. He could hear a bird tittering outside.

  “Indeed,” agreed Noiro, walking over to the sundial’s podium, Elara’s coded journal in hand. “Shall we?”

  Elara watched as he twisted the dials on the Aether Stone, each click ringing ominously in her ears as he slowly entered in the next code.

  The room flashed around them, and the group took a moment to view their surroundings.

  They were in a small bedroom. It was dark, and they could just barely make out the shape of a person lying in a large bed, tossing and turning every few moments beneath the covers. A few inches away lay the tense form of another person, stiff and unmoving, buried beneath the thick blanket.

  A sudden loud bang startled the visiting group, followed by rough, menacing laughter from somewhere in the house.

  The couple jolted awake, shooting up in a panic at the sound echoing through their home.

  “Oh, God. They’re here!” future Elara breathed in horror, throwing the covers off of her and leaping off the bed.

  Future Argon flew across the room, racing towards a small crib a few feet away. “I’ll get Helia! Get the bag! We need to get out!” Argon ordered, his voice rough with fitful sleep. He leaned over the crib and pulled a small bundle of blankets wrapped around the small child. He looked back at Elara.

  “Go! I’ll follow,” Elara urged, her eyes wild with fright.

  Argon paused, looking down at the bundle in his arms, which began to stir.

  “Go, Argon!”

  He nodded firmly, turning to run out the door.

  Elara ducked her head under the bed and yanked out a large duffle bag, pulling the strap over her head and securing it around her shoulder.

  The visiting Elara felt her heart thunder in her chest as she watched her small family scramble fearfully for their lives. She knew that the future scenes she would see today would be intense, but she wasn’t prepared for this. She didn’t know if she could ever be prepared to watch herself and her family run for their lives.

  The visiting Elara heard heavy footsteps behind her, and looked over her shoulder to find a massive hooded figure running right at future Elara, who was still by the bed. She whirled around, her mouth parted open in shock.

  She was cornered.

  Future Elara moved quickly. She could feel the adrenaline rippling beneath her skin. She charged towards him, pulling out a small knife from the side of the bag, and sank it into his flesh. The man screamed, stumbling as he gawped at the blade sticking out of his belly. Elara took her chance and ran past him, shoving him to the side. She could hear another round of laughter in the house as furniture and glass shattered and smashed against each other, the assailants wreaking havoc in their home.

  She raced towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her and tracing her hands down the tiles, silently counting. She paused, knocking against one of the tiles. Hearing a hollow sound echoing beneath the tile, she pressed her hand firmly against the cool ceramic and stepped back.

  The tile sank into the wall to reveal a panel, which slid roughly against the stone foundation to reveal a small, narrow passageway.

  “What the—” the visiting Elara’s mouth dropped open. “How?”

  “It’s an escape route,” explained the visiting Argon. “Every Guardian’s home has some sort of escape route built in.”

  “For good reason,” the visiting Miela chimed. “Doing what we do, we don’t exactly make a lot of friends.”

  “This isn’t my home, though,” said the visiting Argon, examining the room they were in. Everything was covered in
a thick layer of dust and grime. There were a few bottles lying on the ground, and some shattered glass in the bathtub.

  “Judging from what we last saw, we must already be on the run,” mused the visiting Elara. “It looks like we’re… squatting in another Guardian’s home.”

  “Abandoned home, by the looks of it,” uttered the visiting Noiro, studying his surroundings.

  Future Elara threw her bag in and clambered into the small hole. Breathing heavily, she felt around her in the dark, her palm closing around a small panel beside her. Her breath caught in her throat as footsteps drew near the bathroom’s entrance, and she pressed hard against the panel.

  The tile slowly slid back in place, enveloping her in the darkness. Turning away, she crawled deeper into the passageway.

  The world twisted around the visitors, and they were suddenly transported to a jagged, rocky terrain nestled at the base of a cliff. The sea roared angrily at the other side, and the wind pierced their bones with its icy chill.

  “Argon! ARGON!” Elara yelled, her voice almost drowned out by the wind.

  “In here!” Argon shouted, his voice barely discernible over the howling wind. His voice was followed by the terrified wails of a small child.

  Elara looked up, spying a dark hole in the side of the cliff a few meters off the ground. She scrambled up the rocks, slipping occasionally as the ground crumbled beneath her feet while she climbed her way to her small family.

  “Argon?” Elara’s voice echoed through the cave.

  “I’m here,” his voice called back to her.

  Elara felt her way through the cold, rocky interior and squeezed herself through the tight gap in the rock, a small glow growing brighter as she drew nearer towards Argon’s voice. Her eyes adjusted in the dark cave, and she saw a man with curly black hair holding a crying child in his arms.

  He stood in the middle of the cave, a small lantern burning at his feet with the smallest flame it could possibly muster. His body was shaking, his chest rising and falling as he panted deeply, staring at her as if she were the only thing that mattered.