Power Revealed (The Elementers) (14 page)

“If he had told you his secret.”

It was the first time that Justin was glad Henry hadn’t told him the truth. At least it made it possible for Justin to tell the truth to Grams. “No, he never said anything to me. But you’re saying the guys in the photo were his close friends?”

“Charles, yes. But the others—it was more like they belonged to the same club. Henry and Rex were simply too different. I once asked Henry why he invited Rex over when they so often disagreed on just about everything. Henry just shook his head and sighed. They were kind of like brothers who didn’t get along. They seemed to stick together out of requirement rather than choice.”

Justin sat up straighter. Rex had always been against Henry. He replayed the conversation between Rex and Alexei in his mind. This all confirmed what Alexei said.

“But what’s the interest in an old photo?” Grams asked.

Justin nearly jumped in surprise. He was so absorbed in thoughts about Rex’s guilt that Justin forgot that he was still on the phone with Grams. “Oh, nothing. I was just curious who Henry’s friends were.” Justin thought that this all just further proved that Rex had always been against Henry. Justin would prove Rex’s guilt and avenge his grandpa.

Chapter 20

On Tuesday, Justin threw himself onto his bed exhausted after his training session with Mr. Hamilton. It wasn’t nearly as much fun without Raven. Mr. Hamilton pushed him hard, but Justin knew he made a lot of progress. Other than a few uncontrolled flying ice shards that didn’t hit either of them, he’d kept his powers from causing any major disasters. He needed progress if he was going to stand up against Rex and his friends on the Council. That had been almost all he had been able to think about. Well, everything except maybe Raven.

She hadn’t come to training today and wouldn’t be available for Thursday’s training either. Justin knew why. It was Eric. She invited Justin to come along on Thursday to the movies with a group of her friends. But Justin knew Eric would be there and the thought of hanging out watching another guy with his arm around Raven didn’t sit well with Justin. Besides, someone was trying to hurt or kill him. He needed to focus on learning how to protect himself.

During training, Mr. Hamilton taught him how to turn water into ice by slowing down the particles until they froze. Justin began cooling water and built up to slush balls. He struggled getting the right consistency for snowballs. Either they were too wet or he turned them into blocks of ice. Not the safest projectile. Finally, he succeeded in building an ice bridge over a small creek. The poor construction and his inexperience in walking on ice were not a good combination. He gently touched his bruised hip where he fell on his ice bridge. At least he was still in one piece. Not something he could say for the bridge.

After getting the hang of freezing water, Justin asked Mr. Hamilton about doing the opposite--speeding up the particles until they started boiling. It seemed simple enough, but a serious look spread across Mr. Hamilton’s face.

“Justin, it’s time to talk about fire.”

“Yeah, why isn’t there a fire element?” Justin asked.

“Justin, fire isn’t an element like the rest. Fire is a chemical reaction between oxygen and fuel. It’s a force of destruction. When we use the elements to destroy life, doing so destroys something within us. There are two main rules for Elementers.”

“Two now? I thought there was only one: avoid doing or saying anything that would expose our secret. How many more are you going to dump on me?”

“This is important. You can’t use the elements to destroy life. Not only because you shouldn’t damage nature or people, but also because our connection to the elements goes both ways. We can affect the elements, but that connection affects us too. If we use the elements to destroy life, that destructive energy reflects back into us. It affects us deeply. Elementers have gone mad by using their powers in destructive ways.”

“Then why do you use me as target practice during training?”

“I might have given you a bruise or two, but I have never destroyed life during our training sessions.”

“Raven exploded rocks.”

“It’s only a problem when you destroy living things.”

“But what about when I created that microburst?”

“Exactly. Why do you think Rex was so angry?”

“Rex is always angry.”

Mr. Hamilton shook his head. “How did you feel after the microburst?”

“Nauseous and dizzy. But that’s because I used a lot of energy.”

“Using lots of energy at once can be dangerous and it will wear you out, but the destruction you caused to all those trees, other plants, and possibly a few animals reflected back on you. How did it make you feel? I’m not talking physically.”

“Angry. But that’s because of Rex.”

“It wasn’t just Rex. It’s hard to explain, but when an Elementer destroys life, it begins to destroy their soul. That’s why using fire isn’t allowed. It creates destruction both in the world and in the Elementer.”

“But I feel fine now,” Justin said. “It hasn’t affected me.”

“I’m certain it affected you, but the real damage comes from repeated use.”

“So it can be used occasionally?” Justin asked.

“No!” Mr. Hamilton lowered his voice, but the intensity was still there. “Never. Elementers have thought that in the past. But as they used fire, it affected their soul and perspective to such an extent that they couldn’t even see the change in themselves. They were blind to the decay inside of them, kept doing it, and soon it took them over. It always does.”

“So I can’t even boil water?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong with boiling water. I can make the quickest hot chocolate around. But if I boiled water to destroy some animal or person, that destructive action would reflect back at me.”

“So what other rules are you going to throw at me?”

“Only those two. But bad things will happen if you break them.”

Chapter 21

Justin forced himself to run down the dark road and resist looking behind to see if the white car still followed him. He didn’t want to let on that he knew they were trailing him until he found a good spot to lose them. Clouds blocked out much of the light from the full moon leaving only the glow from houses and sparse street lamps to scan for an escape.

He took a turn at the end of the block and discreetly turned his head to look down the road from where he came. The white car passed under the light of a street lamp and continued to drive slow, hanging back at least sixty feet. Justin picked up his pace. After passing only five more houses, he reached another cross street and turned left trying to escape the twisted maze of residential streets.

He wasn’t familiar with this neighborhood, so he hoped he was heading toward the main road. If he could reach a place with lots of people, Justin hoped he could lose himself in the crowd. He listened for the unwelcome purr of the car behind him, but he only heard his own ragged breathing and the distant ghostly chorus of hundreds of frogs.

At the end of the next block, Justin took another left and looked behind again. The white car was nowhere to be seen. Justin halted and peered down the dark, lifeless road. A break in cloud cover illuminated the street in an eerie glow. The road was empty except for a few solitary cars left in front of houses. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but the barking of a dog pulled him out of his daze. The car didn’t seem to be following him. Justin shook his head embarrassed for letting his imagination run away on him.

He resumed his normal running pace and tried to think of something other than Elementers. But one Elementer kept invading his mind. Raven. Part of him tried to push her out of his thoughts. After all, she had a boyfriend. But another part of him wanted to keep thinking about her, especially when he remembered what he felt when they touched at the park and then in the school hallway. He had replayed it dozens of times in his mind. The moment she touched him, he felt her tug on him. But even after she let go, he was still drawn toward her. He told himself to forget about it, but he couldn’t.

Justin was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice a car cross the same street a block down the road. When the car was nearly through the intersection, it took a wide turn at the last moment and headed in Justin’s direction. The sharp turn caused the wheels to squeal and grab Justin’s attention. His mind lurched back into the present, he saw the white car, and darted away.

He needed to lose the car. But how? He was fast, but not that fast. He could use his powers, but he didn’t know how many people were in the car. And why hadn’t they used their powers on him already? Justin didn’t know, but he didn’t care to stop and ask them the question.

He just hoped they didn’t know where he lived. The car started following him after he had stopped at a secluded park to practice his wind energy. He hoped they sensed his use of energy and found him that way. If they knew where he lived... A chill filled his chest. No matter how irritated he was with his Dad, Justin would protect his mom and dad. They had no ability to defend themselves from these kinds of people. People like Justin. Reaching another corner, Justin turned and noticed a small park up ahead. Upon reaching it, he ran across the grass, past the playground, and reached the other side of the park leading to another part of the subdivision. The car would either have to drive across the grass through the park or travel far around to reach the road Justin was now on. The white car slowed slightly as it passed the park, but it continued on and Justin could hear the engine gun and pick up speed once it was out of sight.

Justin wasn’t sure how much time the shortcut would give him, but he knew he’d better make good use of it. The street curved to the left and as Justin came around the corner, he saw it terminate in a dead end. He thought this might be his dead end if he didn’t find a way out and fast. All the houses lined up in a circle cornering him in. But then a small opening came into sight. The gate to the backyard of one of the homes remained open. Justin hoped that meant the yard wasn’t holding a large dog that wouldn’t appreciate visitors. Lights were on in the nearby living room, so Justin carefully snuck across the lawn, but when heard the sound of a car closing in on him his concern about the house’s occupants disappeared and he sprinted into the backyard.

Half way to the back fence Justin tripped on something in the dark. The collision sent him sprawling to the ground and rolling into the side of a metal storage shed causing a loud clatter. Justin scampered behind the shed and waited a few moments in the dark to make sure the home owners didn’t open the back door to check on the noise. He scanned the yard and groaned when he noticed that the back fence stood as tall as himself.

When no one came out of the house, Justin stood up, eyed the fence, and took a run at it gaining enough momentum to successfully pull himself up and over the wall. Unfortunately, the landing wasn’t as successful. He dropped on top of a large, hard object and rolled to the ground. Something hissed behind Justin. He spun on his knees only to discover he had fallen on a dog house. Justin jumped to his feet and backed up. Another hiss came out of the dog house. He stopped. Dogs don’t hiss.

A set of whiskers and pointed ears peered out from the dog house. Justin laughed. It was just a cat. The orange and black striped face emerged and hissed again. Justin’s shoulders relaxed and he whispered, “Hey, kitty.” The feline stepped out of the shadows of the dog house. “Holy hugeness. Who’s been feeding you?” The cat was easily as big as most medium sized dogs. The feline took a couple steps toward Justin, made an unearthly shrieking sound, and swung her claws at his leg. “Watch it!” Justin took a step back but she continued to approach and swung again scratching his shin. “Ow!” A light in the house turned on. Justin glared at the temperamental, overgrown feline and then turned and ran away along the side of the house, opened the gate, and sprinted down the street telling himself that he wasn’t running from the cat. He just didn’t want to be seen by whoever lived in the house.