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*** To Be the One ***
Volume One: The Awakening
By: Myke D
Part 1: Coming Together
Chapter 6: History
Two young men, both with dark hair, stood over the strange rock that had broken into two different pieces.
"What is it, Xander?" The one asked the other. They looked so much alike, that I thought they were twins at first.
"I don't know, Josiah." The one named Xander replied and I glanced at the man beside me in shock.
Josiah simply nodded. His gray eyes looked sad as he took in the scene before us.
"My older brother and I had stumbled upon this broken rock when we were both in our teens. Xander had just turned eighteen, and I was due to turn sixteen the following day." Josiah said softly. "This though..." The man fell silent for a moment before he continued. "This is the moment everything changed for us... For our entire family."
The younger Josiah kneeled down next to the glowing stones as if he was drawn to them.
"Do you feel that, Xander?" Josiah asked softly. "I can feel some sort of energy coming from this rock. It's like it's trying to call for me."
Xander crouched next to his younger brother and stared at the other stone with the same look of awe on his face. Their darkened skin was glowing from the light coming from the rocks. Both brothers reached out and touched the two halves at the same time. The moment their flesh came into contact with the rocks, a sudden burst of energy exploded from the stones that was felt around the entire world. Xander and Josiah were both sprawled out on the ground, but the stones were gone.
"Where did the rocks go?" I asked the older man beside me.
He glanced at me sadly before he touched his hand to his chest.
"The stones became a part of us," Josiah said softly. "Not all of the pieces joined with my brother and I, though. That's where we come to our current situation."
"Someone is hunting down the stones," I said as the thought crossed my mind.
"Not all of them," Josiah corrected me. "Just four. The Elemental Stones."
"What happens if they find them?"
"They will be able to release my brother from his prison, and a new Age of Darkness will envelope the entire world. Black Magic will rule over all dominions for thousands of years until another comes along that will be able to correct our mistakes." Josiah fell silent after he told me the possible repercussions of my failure. "It's not going to be easy for you, Elijah, but you won't be alone this time. There will be three others that will assist you, and you have to learn to trust them."
"How will I know who they are?" I asked. "How will I find them?"
"You've already started finding them, Elijah." Josiah said calmly.
"What do you mean?" I felt stupid asking the question, but Josiah simply smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"There is much for us to discuss, Elijah." Josiah said.
The desert scene faded away from in front of me, and there was a wood cottage on the edge of a small village surrounded by woods replacing it when I rubbed my eyes. The sky was orangish-blue as if the sun was beginning to set, and I could hear the sounds of crickets coming from nearby.
"Now, where are we?"
"This is the moment that your cousins found the Elemental Stones."
"Cousins?" I asked in disbelief. "My mom doesn't have any brothers or sisters, and I just learned that my dad is an angel of sorts. How do I have any fam..." I fell silent as the image of one person with gray hair and a tender smile appeared in my mind. "Aunt Mattie..."
Josiah smiled and thumped me on the back proudly.
"Aunt Mattie doesn't have any children, though." Then, I realized that was just another lie I had been led to believe my entire life. A wave of sadness came over me as I struggled to deal with this new information. "Everything has been a lie..."
"Only because it needed to be that way, Elijah." Josiah reassured me quickly. "There was no other way..."
"Leave it be," I said to end the continuous cycle of excuses.
I turned my attention to the cottage and smiled as I saw my aunt's figure pass in front of one of the windows. A thin plume of gray smoke rose lazily into the sky above, and I could hear laughter coming from nearby. I glanced to my left and saw three figures walking towards the cottage. Two of them were young men, and the third was a girl that didn't appear to be much older than myself. She had a long blue cloak tied around her shoulders, and the hood was down allowing her long brown hair to cascade down her back. The door to the cottage opened as the trio laughed amongst themselves, and a blonde-haired girl stepped outside with the dim glow of the fireplace inside illuminating her figure.
"Did you find them?" The blonde girl called out to the other three as they got closer.
"Yeah," the eldest boy returned with a grin. "We're going to need your help to get to them, Sarah."
The blonde girl almost jumped up and down with excitement.
"Are they the Elementals?" I asked incredulously. "They all look sweet and innocent. Even the little girl in the doorway."
"Come inside and get some supper, children." I heard Aunt Madison's voice call out from inside the cottage. "Your adventures can wait until tomorrow."
The trio stopped almost directly in front of where we were standing.
"We'll sneak out, tonight." The eldest boy whispered. His brown hair looked even darker in the fading sunlight. "Ava can tell Sarah after they go to bed."
"God knows that she can't keep a secret," the other boy said with a dramatic roll of his green eyes. His hair was fiery red and seemed to flicker as he moved about.
"Neither can you, Simon." Ava retorted with a scoff to the red head. "Sarah will be ready to go at midnight, Adam."
The dark-haired boy nodded his head before the trio continued to the cottage.
"So, they wait until midnight to do what?" I asked Josiah.
"The power of the stones was too great for them to resist," the old man answered sadly. "With each use, the power took a tighter control on their very souls. Your cousins never stood a chance." Josiah motioned towards the woods. "Let's go, Elijah. There is more to see over here."
As we stepped forward the world spun again, and I found myself standing inside of a rocky tunnel. There was a strange glow coming from the other end of the tunnel, and Josiah motioned me towards it with a reassuring nod. I frowned at him before I started down the narrow path towards the eerie red glow.
I could hear voices whispering quietly amongst themselves, almost as if they were afraid to wake up a parent, as I approached the light. I stopped just inside the mouth of a massive cavern and gasped in awe. There were four granite pillars, and each one was glowing a different color. My four cousins were standing in the center of the four pillars with their hands clasped, and their eyes shut tightly. I could feel energy beginning to build from within their circle, and the four pillars began to pulse with color. Red, green, blue, yellow.
"Red is fire, green is earth, blue is water, and yellow is for air." Josiah answered my unspoken question. "Your cousins are using their powers to break open the pillars, so they may covet the stones."
Just then, a sharp crack resonated throughout the cavern causing me to jump in surprise. I glanced up to see a tear falling down Josiah's cheek. I turned to see the four teenagers turn and face each pillar. Then, they held both of their hands out towards the stone and spoke a single word.
"Release!" They shouted in unison.
Then, each pillar gave up its treasure in a flash of color. I watched in disbelief as the four different stones floated through the air towards my cousins. I wanted to scream at them to stop, but I wasn't sure if they could even see me. Each teenager pulled off their cloaks to reveal they were naked beneath the dark covers. The moment they were disrobed, the four stones flew towards my cousins and hit each of them in their chest. The cavern was filled with total chaos the next moment as the powers of the stones overwhelmed my ancient family members.
Simon fell to the ground and screamed in agonizing horror as his entire body burst into flames. I fought against the urge to vomit as his skin blistered and fell away. Adam, the eldest, took several slow steps forward until his body began to crumble into dirt beneath his movements. He reached out towards Ava with a dusty gasp before his entire body dissolved into dirt. Sarah screamed in terror as her body seemed to disappear around her as if it was being blown away by the wind. Her voice was only a faint echo when she vanished completely. Ava was forced to watch in horror as her siblings fell victim to their new curse. She whimpered in fear as her own form began to drip away like water. When Ava's knees gave out, her body fell forward, and she exploded into a puddle of clear water.
"This is by far, one of the worst days in the history of magic." Josiah stated calmly before he touched my shoulder. The next thing I knew, I was standing back in the roofless corridor with Josiah beside me. The old man smiled down at me. "You will learn more when you meet your Mentor, Elijah."
"I hope so," I said softly. I didn't want to offend the man, but I was tired of being kept in the dark.
I turned to see my mother talking to my father while Brayden was just returning with Lukas by his side. Brayden's brown eyes were wide with fear before he caught sight of me. My friend smiled nervously before he glanced away and went to join my mother and father. I frowned. They were keeping secrets again.
"Let it pass for now, Elijah." Josiah told me softly. "You each have your own roles to play in the coming days."
"Whatever," I said with a grunt. "Send me home, please."
I heard Josiah sigh before he touched my shoulder gently.
"Stay strong, Elijah." I heard him say before the world started to bend around me. "You have trying times ahead of you."
Then, I was alone in my bedroom. I pulled off my clothes and slipped into my bed. I was tired of being around people keeping secrets from me, and it seemed like it was just going to get worse. My mind was filled with thoughts of Josiah's cryptic warning as he had sent me home.
"You have trying times ahead of you..."
It seemed as though the entire magical community wanted to keep me in the dark.
Fuck them, I thought angrily. I don't need any of them!
***Thank you for reading this Chapter of "Be the One". Stay tuned for Chapter 7.
****I have other stories here on nifty under the Gay/Science Fiction section! The Touch The Legends of Blood – Volume One – Blood Lust
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/authors.html#myked
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