The Elemental Chronicles: Rising Tides - The Prophecy

Ember swings the door to her room open. I shudder as I stare inside her room. Piles of clothes lie in a crumpled heap on the floor. The bed is unmade, and on it is the biggest fire hazard I have ever seen: a lighter, and a box of matches. Her desk is littered with wool, thread, needles, and unfinished clothes and patterns. The board hanging on the wall is scattered with notes and clothing designs. A pile of mannequin parts lie around, untouched. In short, her room is a complete and total mess.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCGRG3jwFa

“Whoa,” I say. “It looks like a hurricane hit here.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2zdyV5vEO

Savannah laughs, a sweet melody. “It often does. She says it’s a ‘system’.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOEpnGd9sW

“An effective system, if I do say so myself. And I do.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqz5ig52nr

I pick my way through the mess, carefully shifting the lighter and sitting at the foot of Ember’s bed.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrzHEA1jB8

“So? What are we talking about?” I ask.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrTt9XKdBs

“You’re very eager to hear this, huh?” Ember says.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5ILFH42eT

Savannah facepalms. “What did I tell you about beating around the bush? We want to talk about what happened this morning. You said your day was a disaster, you were thinking about it, and then it started to rain. Right?” I nod. “Well, this morning, I woke up in a really good mood, right? And then a tree appeared out of nowhere. As in, it grew from my bedposts in a matter of seconds.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFfG6vDsMU

“And this morning, there was an incident with my eggs,” Ember says sadly. “I was just trying to have breakfast. Liam was his usual annoying self, and I got angry. The next thing I know - whoosh! Fire!” She mimes a mini explosion of sorts and makes a fist with one hand. “Then my eggs were gone. Poof.” She releases the fist.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJluzvsUjv

Savannah smiles. “She’s very expressive.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSvh8UHg5n

From what I know, it’s Savannah and Ember’s sixteenth birthday, and it also happens to be mine. This morning, we each had different incidents. I was in a bad mood, and it rained. Savannah was in a good mood, and a tree sprouted and grew from her bedposts within seconds. And Ember was miffed, then her eggs… Um. Whoosh. Fire. Poof. I wonder…187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgbKHLb1fS

“Do you know what time this happened? The tree and the, um, eggs?” I ask.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAxlkUPU4v

“Around eight thirty,” Savannah and Ember chorus.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojeC40EEmF

“So the rain, the tree, the eggs. They all happened at the exact same time, on the exact same day,” I murmur. “Well, even so, it doesn’t mean we have anything to do with each other. Rain, no matter when it falls, is just rain. Maybe a seed fell near your bedposts.” I turn to Ember. “And maybe the fire was too… fiery.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvJ5mMrq3O

Ember snorts as I say this, but Savannah just shakes her head. “It’s like I always say. Once is chance. Twice is a coincidence. And three times?” She looks at Ember and I. “That’s a pattern. There’s something going on here, something supernatural. For whatever reason, the three of us are involved. It’s our job to get to the bottom of this.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5jF3qQKfj

Someone starts to clap. At first, I think it’s Ember, but I turn to the door, where it’s coming from. A boy leans against the door, with the same fiery aura as Ember. His hair, though as flaming as Ember’s, is a duller red, almost brown, but not quite. His eyes, unlike Ember’s, are like pools of molten gold, priceless and coveted by all. His shirt is orange, coupled with a black hoodie, and he’s wearing fingerless gloves, making him seem edgy. Orange headphones hand around his neck, and his humming suggests he used them recently.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYzxhrjdQi

“Now that, Van,” he says, walking towards us. “Is why I always call you a poet. No, a bard.” He raises his hand dramatically and continues in a dramatic voice. “Nay, the greatest bard of them all, worthy of the best lyre money and adoration can buy!”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1sBZIUhDd

Savannah’s cheeks turn red as she says, “Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPm3HnVgYi

“Ugh,” Ember says, scrunching her nose.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWBlo7A5rb

“So, Em. Ready to admit I’m right, hermanita?”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg42fjeQmwV

I’m no Spanish expert, but it makes sense that this boy is Ember’s brother. Older, though? We’ll see, I suppose.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2Qj1YHXLU

“Never, hermano mio.” She turns away from the boy.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuov1sZSRlF

The boy nods at me. “Quién es ella?”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6klhI580hr

“Um, me llamo Cordelia?” I try.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuKPcidzXJ

The boy laughs. “I like her. Me llamo Liam.”

“So, what is all this about?” I ask, slipping comfortably back to English.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KzMUWwMga

Liam recites, “Three forces elemental thou must seek,

The first the one from the creek.

Her powers still asleep,

She must return to the deep,

There great challenges she must defeat,

Then her powers shall be complete.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6zNGdieXO

The second force is one with the earth,

She must also prove her worth.

Sniff out the traitor in her midst,

And she and earth will coexist.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShRHGNFJm5

The third and last is of the fire,

The situation is becoming dire.

The traitor’s claims she must dismiss,

Or risk everything tumbling into the abyss.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aF1dqXOeD

The fate of the realms elementals is at stake,

The balance must not break.

The final battle can be won,

If the girls’ challenges are overcome.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk31C1pcDa

Ember rolls her eyes, and Savannah scoffs. They’ve clearly heard this many times before. I, on the other hand, am just confused. “Sorry, what?”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkMoR4PhRY

Liam doesn’t answer, his stare blank. Ember starts to mutter in Spanish as she walks over to him and snaps her fingers under his nose. He jolts back to the present. “Huh? Oh, prophecy. Duh. Em here is ‘of the fire’, Van is ‘one with the earth’, which makes you, Cordelia, ‘the one from the creek’.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XxwStfwdb

This is all so ridiculous. Elemental forces? Really? This is based off of three coincidences that probably have nothing to do with each other. I clap slowly. “Wow. Wow. That was great. But… you called me over to show me your play? You could have just told me so.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSJgkHA1J1

All three of them stare at me, mouths hanging open. Finally, Ember speaks. “Ay, ay, ay, who knew she was such a dipshit?”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY17sky7m6z

“Emmy!” Savannah snaps.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GOJqMRLfB

“What?”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjfxWgNsMz

“This is real, Cordelia,” Liam says, leaning against Ember’s desk.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXiQF2vQsq

I scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I say, standing. “Call me when you decide you want to be serious.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQtGsqhkVk

When I get to the door, Liam calls after me, “Call me when you decide you want to listen.”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZq6syAMoP

And I walk out the door, feeling like I’ve made a big mistake.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbrbHhF3q5

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The Prophecy

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