The Firelands

41 - Middle of Nowhere

22ndday of the fourth Month, Joker's Moon

2:00 pm

Middle of Nowhere

"We're lost, aren't we?" Kalen said over twenty-four hours later as they rode through forests, their horses picking their way carefully through the foliage and hidden roots.

They had met JaKob at the cross roads and he had pointed them west, saying the scouts had travelled straight ahead, since that was the road that followed the most direct route through the realm. The western road would lead them off at an angle and they would end up leaving the Beast Realm and heading to the Celestial Realm.

"How can you have got us lost? You have the map," Kalen said, glaring at Incendio.

"Don't get mad at me, nothing looks the same in real life as it does on a piece of paper, and we didn't take the route I had planned out," Incendio snapped.

"A werewolf with no sense of direction, great."

"You're being awful charming for someone who slit my throat the other day and tried to eat Theth," Incendio sneered.

Shame instantly creased Kalen's expression and Incendio grimaced.

"Don't look at me like that, it makes me feel bad."

"I am sorry," Kalen said, "but I really didn't want you coming near me."

"Yeah, sure, you didn't have to attempt decapitation in the process."

"I really am sorry." Kalen paused for a moment then said, "But you shouldn't have been stupid enough to go near a rogue vampire."

Incendio growled at him and Kalen hissed back.

"Right, well, good to know the dynamics of the group have not been changed," Zedkiel said. "On a plus side, Kalen at least now has power over water, two out of four is not bad."

"So now you also have power," Theth said, looking between Kalen and Incendio, "Does that mean it's a gradual thing? Do we learn when we need to or will it just show up? Because Incendio got them when young, but Kalen only just got his."

Kalen glanced away at that and Zedkiel looked at him.

"What?" he asked, frowning at Kalen.

"Nothing," Kalen said, focusing ahead, moving a branch out of his way.

"Do not lie to me, Kalen."

"I'm not."

Zedkiel raised an eyebrow at him.

"...Completely," Kalen finished. The others waited and Kalen sighed. "I used to have power over water," he finally said.

The others stared at him.

"Excuse me?" Zedkiel asked.

"I used to be able to control water," Kalen said, "When I was a child... but, it was also around the time of my transition so it became dangerous. I could... did harm people with it if I lost control over my emotions. If I became too angry, too worried, too frustrated, water would react. So my dad taught me to control it. He said I had to learn to hide the powers. I had to learn to do what vampires are famed for, locking down on my emotions. The thing about that skill though, it takes years to learn, children aren't supposed to have it, but I learnt it anyway." He looked at Incendio. "I thought I was cursed. I thought that 'perhaps this power is the reason I have been abandoned. And if that's true, I have to hide it, I have to control it, make it go away, so this human family doesn't abandon me as well'."