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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGvh0atqM8

“Whoa,” I say. “It looks like a hurricane hit here.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlChjHuOYPI

Savannah laughs, a sweet melody. “It often does. She says it’s a ‘system’.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1bhPLHNew

“An effective system, if I do say so myself. And I do.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLzSXGgigl

I pick my way through the mess, carefully shifting the lighter and sitting at the foot of Ember’s bed.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbWlWytEmC

“So? What are we talking about?” I ask.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz7afujYvY

“You’re very eager to hear this, huh?” Ember says.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7428BKSuw

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.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIEjjIu7vX

“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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCKY3TIT5N

Savannah smiles. “She’s very expressive.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt7Q21wfj1

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…207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL138tXoBGe

“Do you know what time this happened? The tree and the, um, eggs?” I ask.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyueWgoiuX

“Around eight thirty,” Savannah and Ember chorus.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1Pm5vgHxR

“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.” 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHjCTtE2bL

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.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAczIBXOtz

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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjeposxFcH

“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!”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfShUIH5aki

Savannah’s cheeks turn red as she says, “Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSuOgDKplP

“Ugh,” Ember says, scrunching her nose.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2ZNG1I6Wa

“So, Em. Ready to admit I’m right, hermanita?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEFzsKvxXK

I’m no Spanish expert, but it makes sense that this boy is Ember’s brother. Older, though? We’ll see, I suppose.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6F33L7wRo

“Never, hermano mio.” She turns away from the boy.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8VrqaV2jF

The boy nods at me. “Quién es ella?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRW33MMqYRd

“Um, me llamo Cordelia?” I try.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv0kDvWhiS

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

“So, what is all this about?” I ask, slipping comfortably back to English.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVyR4Hzu6K

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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9G0S8lQoo

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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwR1Hon758

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.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusG6mMjmQy

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.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwAbGTOw66

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?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rDAN23U6f

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’.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbjz84h7LT

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.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcn1AZVp5x

All three of them stare at me, mouths hanging open. Finally, Ember speaks. “Ay, ay, ay, who knew she was such a dipshit?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcs0l5actXx

“Emmy!” Savannah snaps.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnNcmYIfLh

“What?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZFaqSHQiU

“This is real, Cordelia,” Liam says, leaning against Ember’s desk.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFgRkDMzu5

I scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I say, standing. “Call me when you decide you want to be serious.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5AzObVuEi

When I get to the door, Liam calls after me, “Call me when you decide you want to listen.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUAcMPtskW

And I walk out the door, feeling like I’ve made a big mistake.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71EgHOlYGk

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The Prophecy

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