The Elementals: The Dawn of New Abilities

Chapter 18

Chapter eighteen

I coughed as I barely stopped myself from choking on my own tongue. The Control?! The Control was here? Now?! From any other day of the year, of any other time in the day they pick now to show up?

“Uh... good afternoon” I greeted them nervously curtseying a little. Was I supposed to curtsey? I wasn’t sure.

“Good afternoon, um Control... It is a pleasure to finally meet the people who we’ve been hearing and reading about in our history classes” Helena stepped up to greet them and cover for my stuttering mess.

All four nodded slightly to acknowledge our greetings and Mr Obsidian cleared his throat gesturing towards The Control. The Control consisted of two men and two women, they all stood tall and proud and authority practically oozed from their pores. I gulped, knowing that I stood in the presence of the four most powerful Abled in our Abled community.

“Ladies, this Marco Amnis. He is the Water-abled leader” Mr Obsidian waved his hand towards a tall man with jet black, cropped hair and sapphire blue eyes. He had a slight scattering of stubble over his chin and he bowed his head in acknowledgement.

“Good afternoon ladies” he greeted us with a deep, smooth velvety voice.

The dean waved towards the woman standing next to him. She had blonde hair streaked with natural orange highlights that was styled into a spiky pixie hairstyle. “This is Sicilianna Ardere, leader of all Fire-abled” Sicilianna’s pale blue eyes were sharp and seemed to penetrate our own gazes before she nodded her head once but otherwise didn’t speak.

“Here we have Tatiana Solum, Earth-abled leader” I felt my unease from Sicilianna vanish when I took in the tall, curvaceous woman the dean was introducing us to. She had beautiful chocolate skin and blonde hair that was completely shaven but her copper eyes were warm and she smiled wide as she bowed her head.

“Hello Valerie and Helena, it is a pleasure to meet such beautiful young Abled” I smiled in response, immediately liking Tatiana.

“And last but not least, this is...-“

“Gabriel Sano” The last Abled interrupted. He had long russet hair that waved to his shoulders and dark brown eyes that bore into ours. He stepped forward to stand before me and I automatically stepped back. “Leader of Healers...”

He closed his eyes and my own eyes widened in astonishment when the throbbing pain in my leg from the burn Derrek inflicted on me by accident began to heat up. Helena looked at me in confusion when my face contorted with an uncomfortable expression but suddenly the pain was gone. I looked down and realised without lifting a finger Gabriel had healed my burn.

He stepped back and nodded his head like Marco, Sicilianna and Tatiana had and didn’t speak further. I cleared my throat, “Uh... hello Gabriel, and uh... thank you”

He nodded again and shifted his eyes back to Mr Obsidian.

“The Control has come along today to visit the Elementals and do a sort of assessment. No, Helena, it won’t be anything that will harm them. Just a few questions and a little bit of a demonstration is all. It is a good thing you ran into us, quite literally, so you can show us where they are”

Helena and I swapped looks that filled half with horror and half with panic. Now? They wanted to be taken to see the Elementals now?!

“Sure Mr Obsidian, Control” Helena answered slowly. “The Elementals are with Derrek at the moment. We were with them in the forest just earlier. Just follow us”

She grabbed my arm and turned us around walking back towards the forest. I barely noticed her stiff shoulders as I walked and tried to think of a way to let Derrek know that Mr Obsidian was bringing The Control with us. We stepped out onto the campus grounds and the light sounds of happy chatter filled the air, it felt so opposite to the dread filling my insides that I felt like shouting that this was no happy moment.