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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9CahSBYLC
“Whoa,” I say. “It looks like a hurricane hit here.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnuftMUgWb
Savannah laughs, a sweet melody. “It often does. She says it’s a ‘system’.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95zMJzf1tb
“An effective system, if I do say so myself. And I do.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlfZ2RvjQk
I pick my way through the mess, carefully shifting the lighter and sitting at the foot of Ember’s bed.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPa1HchYhd
“So? What are we talking about?” I ask.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzP4ntmFk6
“You’re very eager to hear this, huh?” Ember says.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9uqfLXnbf
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.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcZfxmtxLe
“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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9rBoWbCY2
Savannah smiles. “She’s very expressive.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aw7xRXOSE
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…218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFvo4KsHDB
“Do you know what time this happened? The tree and the, um, eggs?” I ask.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyEEvohy7W
“Around eight thirty,” Savannah and Ember chorus.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstL68NPUzI
“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.” 218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQh32RBORI
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.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOyqpJvO6Z
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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDUaL0LfxW
“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!”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jjek9CQTR
Savannah’s cheeks turn red as she says, “Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRmvZnCYqo
“Ugh,” Ember says, scrunching her nose.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOE71m7eBUq
“So, Em. Ready to admit I’m right, hermanita?”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGYGvwRBXA
I’m no Spanish expert, but it makes sense that this boy is Ember’s brother. Older, though? We’ll see, I suppose.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Gs6u9fgDG
“Never, hermano mio.” She turns away from the boy.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1Q582av07
The boy nods at me. “Quién es ella?”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLl6ZWGEG8I
“Um, me llamo Cordelia?” I try.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESfs29LR2J
The boy laughs. “I like her. Me llamo Liam.”
“So, what is all this about?” I ask, slipping comfortably back to English.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyeH8q7Dxn
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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiL5ohS8dPd
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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUhorJs7uG
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.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzQP2oB0I0
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.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7KlhLbBIg
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?”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUi3KtN5dq
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’.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJ4GNx9p5K
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.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbT3Tgnn9Ph
All three of them stare at me, mouths hanging open. Finally, Ember speaks. “Ay, ay, ay, who knew she was such a dipshit?”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqm0lSrAHZV
“Emmy!” Savannah snaps.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCHefhtURM
“What?”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYh1Bt5euH
“This is real, Cordelia,” Liam says, leaning against Ember’s desk.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1bzLjupWq
I scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I say, standing. “Call me when you decide you want to be serious.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWhIma8rqJ
When I get to the door, Liam calls after me, “Call me when you decide you want to listen.”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHrQ59ARmv
And I walk out the door, feeling like I’ve made a big mistake.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW162pBIKBp
