The Last Elementalist

Chapter 13

Lielle was nearly trampled by the crowd that had rushed off in the direction of the disruption, but she could not move an inch as two children no older than eight were digging their nails into her legs.

"Hey, slugbugs," Lielle laughed. "Miss me?"

"Ya," they giggled in unison. "The nice man brought us here after Mommy and Daddy and Amalia..."

Coby broke off sniffling, his big brown eyes filling with tears. Lielle held him close and he plopped onto his bottom and slid down her leg.

"It's alright," she reassured them. "They were the best Thunderthrillers out there. You know how annoying it is to say that all the time," she said irritated.

Coby smiled a little. "Ya. Some of us call it Thrillers instead."

"Thrillers," she tried. "I like it."

Lielle scooped Amaya up and grabbed Coby's hand. "Let's go check out what all the commotion is."

They started down the hall, chatting about what they had missed over their years apart. Lielle held them close for they were the only family she had left, other than the Pueblo ones, the ones she didn't even know existed until that day.

Shouts sounded as they neared the cafeteria. It sounded as if there was a full blown rebellion going on. Fists flew through the air and then Connor shouted above them all.

"He's just a kid, okay. He can't be a spy, doesn't look more than three. He's a toddler."

"Everyone, be quiet," yelled a young voice.

Lielle's breath caught in her throat.

Pushing to the font of the crowd, clutching her cousins at her side, she screamed, "Wait! Everyone stop!"

Shockingly, the crowd quieted a significant amount so that she would be able to be heard throughout the room.

She caught a glimpse of Finn's light blonde hair and sighed.

"He's a child. It's absurd to think that a three-year-old could be a spy. You're all dumb if that's what you think." At this point the entire crowd had stopped talking and was staring right at her.

"They're children, for Pete's sake, and you're just trying to find someone to blame. I'm sure Elliott was a great guy and all, but you all need to calm down. We'll figure out who the insider is and we will get rid of them. Meanwhile I don't see what you have against babies, but we need all the recruits we can get right now. This child, and any others in this compound should be recruited."

She turned to Connor and nodded. "Go get her. I happen to know this kid and he has a twin. This is Finn Mitchell Travis." She pointed at the door behind her and added," And this is Callie Bella Travis. They could be the ones to win the war against Callahan Agencies. You never know and getting rid of them won't do anything to help."

Everyone stared more for another moment, then mumbled their agreement, and began to file out. When the room was empty Lielle stared the twins down.

Still holding onto the Thomas kids, she gritted her teeth and scolded, "What are you doing here Finn? Didn't we tell you to stay in the room? Can't you listen to us, Finn, they could have killed you."

"Lielle, stop!" Connor hissed. "You're scaring them. They're kids."

"Well I'm sorry, but that's just the harsh reality of this world, of this world of Thrillers that just appear out of nowhere and tell you a bunch of unbelievable trash."