You must know, my awakening was difficult. To be honest, I felt like a soccer stadium was singing inside my head. I straightened up and tried to collect my thoughts. I was lying in white sheets, on a black wooden bed and I did not recognize the room I was in. It was a fairly small room with the walls painted white. Eager to take a closer look at this place, I put my feet on the cold wooden floor and a shiver ran through my legs.
Gradually, my memories came back to me. I remembered when I arrived in high school. I was missing a book that I wanted to take from my locker and before I could, one of Ligt's supervisors hung with me in the hallway…. I couldn't remember clearly what happened next, but Ezequiel and Wendy were there. De Ligt too, but he looked like a wolf!
Come to think of it, some strange things had happened on the night of the party at Ezequiel's house as well. A man in black had beaten me, I had driven him back with flames and Ezequiel had struck him down. I hadn't told him about it because I wasn't sure he was taking me seriously and I wasn't sure if it really happened or if it was really a dream. Knocks on the door brought me back to Earth.
- Come in, I say.
The door opened and Ezequiel entered. As usual, he wore black jogging bottoms and a white T-shirt. His dark curls were still in disarray and he still had the same sparkling eyes as usual but this time tinged with a hint of concern.
- Hey, he said. How are you feeling?
- Good, I answered. Better than I expected after getting beaten up in front of your house and coming close to death in the face of a fire-breathing werewolf. Remarks, that suited de Ligt well, with his doggy mood ...
- You remember all that, asked Ezequiel taken aback.
- Yeah, I nodded. Can you explain it to me or not?
- What do you want me to explain to you?
- Are you kidding me? I exploded. I want you to explain to me everything that happened at your party, your discussion with your friends behind my back, the fire that came out of my hand, that lightning that came out of yours, de Ligt's transformation ... Anyway, I want to understand everything about what happened these last two days.
I collapsed on the bed. I was mad at myself for getting mad at my best friend.
- Excuse me, I told him. I shouldn't have got on my nerves like this.
"It's okay," Ezequiel replied. You are confused and we would be less. I understand that you have a lot of questions, and we will answer them. Don't worry, but not right away. Already know that what happened on my birthday was not two days ago, but three.
- Sorry?
- You have knocked out all day yesterday Callum. Under the influence of anger and probably also fear, you used your power and since it is not used to it, your body did not take it.
- My power?
I didn't understand anything he was telling me. I didn't know what he was talking about, or what it could mean. Suddenly, something came back to me.
- The flames that came out of my hands, I ventured. Is that what you're talking about?
- Yes and yes, replied Ezequiel. Come on, I have someone to introduce you.
- Now?
- Yep. He can't wait to meet you.
- Who?
- You'll see.
Having no other choice, I got out of bed and followed my friend down a hallway with white brick walls and dark wood floors. Through the window, a thick forest of fir trees stretched out as far as the eye could see but only the treetops appeared as the rest was obscured by thick fog.
- Where we are, I asked.
- At the Manor, he replied. I know that's not what you meant or heard but trust me, only ask to learn one thing at a time.
- What do you think I would like to learn first.
- Who you are and where you might be from.
Ezequiel and I followed a long hallway that led us to a large oak door. Ezequiel knocked on it and a "yes" sounded behind it. He opened the door and let me first enter what struck me as the biggest and most beautiful office I have ever seen in my life. The room was hexagonal and the wooden walls were lined with shelves filled with books and a few picture frames. One of them caught my eye, and I instinctively walked over to one of the shelves, grabbed the frame I had spotted, and stared at the photo inside. The latter was a young woman of about twenty-five, with long black hair held back by a red sari. Her blue eyes twinkled with joy and my heart sank as I looked at this photo. I was sure I recognized the woman on it, but I couldn't.
"Mr Lambert," Ezequiel said hesitantly. There is someone you might like to meet.
I hadn't paid attention to it when I entered, but an ebony desk sat in the centre of the room and a middle-aged man sat behind it. He wore a grey suit that contrasted with his red sneakers, but his black hair and greying beard kept him looking serious, making him look like a school principal. I know what I'm talking about, you can believe me. Said Mr Lambert finally looked up from his book and looked at me for the first time. A welcoming smile spread over her face, then her gaze narrowed.
"Who is this boy," he asked Ezequiel angrily. You know, however, that the Insensitive are not allowed to enter ...
"It's Callum Ashad," my friend interrupted abruptly with a defiant glint in his eyes.
Hearing my name, Mr Lambert seemed to calm down immediately. He stood up and walked over before giving me a long look.
"You're sure it's him," he asked Ezequiel again.
- Yeah, I know my best friend's name.
- He may very well be a namesake!
- He made flames come out of his hands when a dude from Black Dawn came after him. And then watch it for two seconds. Those blue eyes and brown hair, he looks just like her.
Ezequiel turned to me before asking:
- Your family, I mean, your biological family is of Indian origin, isn't it?
- Yes. I replied intrigued by this question. My mother was, at least.
- Do you see sir? It's him, he has to. And I repeat, Black Dawn has taken aim!
Mr Lambert sank into his chair before scratching his beard.
- So there it is, he declared. The circle is complete now that Laura Ashad's son has joined us.
- Wait, I intervened. Did you know my mother?
- Yes. She was part of the Circle, as were other family members before her. Like you now.
- I don't understand what you're talking about, cried. How does this relate to my mother and what happened to me three days ago.
- Calm down, Mr Lambert ordered reassuringly. I'll answer your questions, but first, sit down.
He gestured to a vacant chair in front of his desk. Not having much better things to do, I did as I was asked. Mr Lambert also sat down and spoke again.
- As you will probably have understood, my name is Sebastian Lambert and I am sort of the director of this boarding school. This house was built many years ago to serve as a refuge for the children of the elements. To explain it simply, you should know that the elements are creative powers, kinds of deities that are the basis of life on Earth, as well as in the entire Universe for that matter. There are eight of them: fire, earth, water and air are the four fundamental and therefore the most powerful. The next four are metal, nature, lightning, and spirit.
- Okay, I nodded wryly. But what do I have to do with this?
- You will understand, replied Mr Lambert. Centuries ago, these eight powers were embodied in eight men and women scattered around the world. They had become the first children of the elements. Using this power to protect the world and the life within it, they later passed this power on to their descendants in eight families that have continued to this day. Your friend Ezequiel Reyes here is the descendant of the first son of lightning.
As if to confirm this, Ezequiel held out his hand and sparks began to crackle around. Suddenly, an electric shock shot from his index finger to shoot at the bulb of the lamp on the table and it immediately lit up.
- That's cool, isn't it? he boasted. Even more need for a switch.
- Thank you for this little demonstration, Mr Reyes, said Mr Lambert before turning to me. As you have just seen, your friend can therefore control electricity and holds this gift from one of his ancestors and so can you. Do you recognize this photo?
He handed me the picture hanging on the wall that I had looked at when I entered the room earlier.
"To be more precise," resumed M. Lambert. Do you know who this woman is?
I looked at the photo again. This lady was very beautiful, but something in me stirred when I saw her. I seemed to recognize this woman but nothing to do, I had no idea who it could be.
- Who is it, I asked.
- She was the fire girl of her generation.
From the moment the mansion manager said those words, I understood who was portrayed in this frame, and what it meant to me.
- This is my mother, is that it? I asked, knowing already that was what he wanted to hear.
- Yes, agreed with Mr Lambert. This is your mother, Laura Ashad, the daughter of fire of her generation. What makes you a member of the Elementary Circle and….
"The son of fire," I finished on the verge of tears.
Within minutes, I had learned the truth about my family and myself. Everything I had searched and wanted to know for ten years had been revealed to me. But to be honest, I hadn't expected this truth at all, something as crazy as that.
- Come on, Ezequiel told me. You need to digest what you just heard.
I'm not making you say it, I thought. My friend pulled me out of the mansion manager's office and led me to a hallway where eight doors were lined up opposite each other. A horizontal line surmounted by a flame motif was etched on the one Ezequiel opened.
- Welcome home, he said. This is the room in which all of the previous Children of Fire have lived since the mansion was built around 150 years ago.
The room was a rectangular room about five meters long and six wide with the walls still made of white brick. A bed was placed in the corner near the door and a bookcase and a wooden table completed the layout. A gold-braided red saree on the bed caught my eye. I took it in my hands and brought it to my face. I didn't smell my mother there obviously, only the dust. The wall opposite the door was occupied by a window through which I could see the thick misty fir forest stretching out to the horizon.
"It's a great place," I said.
- Yeah, I have the same room, except I put more decor. There's a bag with your stuff on the bed. I'll let you settle in and pick you up in about an hour when we get together for dinner.
-Ok thanks, I replied without much enthusiasm.
- See you, my friend said before closing the door.
Not really knowing what to do, I approached the library. Since my mother lived here, I was hoping to find some things of hers that could give me some information about her. Several books were lined up and covered with dust. I grabbed one at random and opened it, only to lock it a few seconds later as the text was written in Hindi. That in itself was not very surprising, Aunt Sofia told me a long time ago that my mother was Indian.
I put the book down and noticed that I was still holding my mother's sari in my hands. I tied it around my neck and opened my bag. To my surprise, it contained several of my favorite things: my MP3, my headphones and some clothes. A sheet of paper folded in half fell out of a pair of jeans I had taken out. I picked it up and unfolded it to read a handwritten message:
Callum,
Your friends explained to me what happened to you and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. However, don't forget that I love you and that I care about you.
Take care of yourself,
Aunt Sofia
Aunt Sofia. At least she knew where I was, so I had to assume that she knew about me. Maybe she was even from the start? She had written that she had failed to protect me. This possibility was therefore quite possible. So that's the mother's legacy. A lie for life and superpowers. Waw, it's true that said like that, it could be okay. Part of me wanted to give up and forget about this story to get my life back, but another part wanted to experience this mysterious power. Feeling new motivation wash over me, I squeezed my mother's sari in my hands.
I opened my bedroom wardrobe and could see it was empty. Obviously, my mother had emptied the cupboards or someone else had. I found that surprising since I had found a sari on the bed. But after all, maybe it had been left in the bedroom on purpose, just like the books in the library? If my mother had lived here, it made sense. I took the clothes out of my bag and scattered them randomly on the shelves. It felt good to take ownership of this space. As I tucked my journal under the pillow, I thought back to what Ezequiel and Mr Lambert had said to each other about me. Apparently, the guy who assaulted me was part of something called Black Dawn. I had no idea what it was and to be honest I was more concerned with what I had learned today about the elements and the power I was supposed to have within me.
I know what you are thinking: What are you complaining about? Do you have superpowers and then saw you, Ezequiel? If you can, you can do things as cool as him, if not more! Yes, you can see it like that. As I said before, this power of a son of fire intrigued and excited me. Fire was a powerful tool and a formidable weapon used by Humanity for millennia. But he could also be a devastating force over which Man had no control, so one could easily imagine what the keeper of this element could do. Damn it, I thought. I grabbed my MP3 and my headphones. I always listened to music when a negative emotion came over me, whether it was anger, sadness, or anxiety. About an hour later, my door was knocked and it opened on Ezequiel.
"It's dinner time," he said, smiling. I'll be in your shoes, I'll hurry because the others can't wait to see you again.
"The others, you mean the other children of the elements," I asked. I know them?
"Not all of them, but you know some of them," Ezequiel agreed, winking at me. And then you know me, I am the son of lightning.
With that, Ezequiel offered his arm to me as if to invite me out of the room. He guided me through the dimly lit hallway. I saw the sun setting through the window, the orange hues that were taking the clouds and the mist which covered the forest offered a magnificent spectacle. We descended an oak staircase which led to a large living room. Very clearly, this place might be called the Manor, but it looked a lot more like an XXL-sized chalet. The brick walls held by wooden beams were covered by eight tapestries of different colours and on which a symbol was woven. I recognized the symbols carved on the door to the upstairs bedrooms. The red banner was decorated with a flame, the blue with what looked like a wave, the white with a swirl, the brown banner with two triangles, the yellow with a lightning bolt, the green with a leaf, the grey with three wavy lines. silver and the last, purple, is adorned with a ghost. A large rectangular table sat in the middle of the room and six young people were seated around it. I easily recognized Wes chatting with Nina and Terence, while Hazel sat on the couch by the fireplace, arms wrapped around her legs. Oddly, I wasn't surprised to see them in this mansion and in a way, it explained some things, including their conversation about me. Terence was the first to see me arrive and rushed over to give me a hug.
- Hi Callum, he said smiling. Glad you recovered, even though my organic remedies helped. The next time you fall off your bike, consider applying some boiled pine bark. Come see me at the greenhouse one of these days, I'll show you how creative plants can be.
"Let him go for two minutes with your hippie remedies, please," Wes said to him before looking at me. Hi Callum, I hope you are hungry.
As if to answer his question, my stomach began to growl. It must have been normal after being unconscious for three days, right? Still, I nodded.
- Perfect, then sit down.
"So he's the son of fire," a voice asked behind me.
I whirled around to find Wendy entering the living room, accompanied by a girl of about eighteen. Her hair was brown and her eyes were brown. She was wearing ripped jeans and a grey sweater. The way he looked at me made me feel like two daggers were stabbing me and allowed me to see a flash of arrogance shining in it.
I didn't want to be taken down by this girl, especially in front of Wendy. So I held out my hand and started to introduce myself.
- Hi, my name is Callum ...
- I know who you are, she interrupted me abruptly before going to sit at the table.
Great, it's off to a good start, I told myself.
"Sorry for that," Wendy whispered to me as she passed me. She is Malika, the daughter of Earth.
Everyone took their seats and I settled into the only vacant chair, located between Hazel's and Terence's. The door to the large living room opened and a woman of about thirty appeared. She was wearing a dark dress as well as high heels. Her thick night-black hair cascaded over her shoulders and back. She was pulling behind her a metal cart on which eight plates were placed.
"The children of the elements' meal is over," she said cheerfully.
Without her needing to add anything else, the dishes flew by themselves to rest in front of my table neighbours. Each of them had chosen something different. For example, Wes had grills, Nina ate sushi, and Ezequiel ate tacos.
"I chose the same thing for you as I did," he told me. I thought you would like it.
- Thanks, dude.
We all started to eat and the woman left the living room without saying a word.
"Who was that woman," I asked Terence, who was devouring her salad.
- It was Miss Gray, Mr Lambert's assistant. Don't worry, she's nice.
Dinner went on without anyone saying a word. I was starting to feel the same cold and tense atmosphere I had at Ezequiel's birthday party. As soon as his plate was empty, Wes spoke up:
"So Callum," he began, crossing his fingers. You must have lots of questions to ask, right?
- One or two yes, I quipped.
- We are listening to you.
I took a deep breath before I jumped in.
- If I understood correctly, I am the son of fire, is that it?
- Yep.
- Why didn't anyone tell me?
- For your safety. You are the heir of one of the four fundamental powers, like me, Nina and Malika. So you are very powerful and therefore you are a threat.
- A threat? For who?
"For Edward," Terence cried. Serious Wes, we need to explain this to him! He is with us now! We have to train him to help us. We will be stronger at eight rather than seven!
- Terence shut up! We're not there yet, so please don't complicate things for once!
Terence crossed her arms, visibly upset. Decided I was hoping that dinner would give me an idea of who I was and why I was in this mansion, but I was no further along.
- And so, you are all children of the elements, are you? I ask in an attempt to get Wes's attention again and keep him from arguing with Terence.
- Yep, he replied. My family has been the guardian of the land for over a thousand years, which makes me the son of the land.
As he spoke, a stone the size of a tennis ball came out of the wall and levitated towards his hand. Then Wes sent her back to where she was with a flick of his finger.
- Too cool, exclaimed.
- You haven't seen anything yet. I can create and manipulate rocks at will, use them as a weapon or for healing.
- You heal with the stones? That's crazy.
- You'll see, we're all capable of doing crazy things. Nina, show him.
The Asian girl stood up and reached out to the window.
"Aeris," she whispered.
After a second, a gust of wind blew it open and formed a small tornado that began to spin in the centre of the table.
"I can handle the wind," she explained to me. I can make him obey my will. Tardius.
With that, the tornado moved towards the window and out of the living room before a gesture from Nina caused it to close.
"I don't think I need to give you a demonstration," Ezequiel said. As Mr Lambert told you, I am the son of lightning, which gives me the power to manipulate electricity.
- It must be fine when your cell phone has run out of battery.
I wished I said that. I was afraid I had upset my friend, but instead of pointing, Ezequiel laughed.
- Ah that's it I find my friend! You're absolutely right, charging cell phones is one of my responsibilities. But to be honest, I think the weirdest powerhouse goes to Wendy.
- You didn't have to introduce me like that, my friend retorted before looking at me with her blue eyes. I am the daughter of the spirit. For the spectacular side, I am….
- Wendy, can you pass me the salt? Ezequiel interrupted.
Wendy raised her hand in the direction of the salt shaker and it levitated toward my friend's plate.
- Thank you.
"No good," Wendy said before returning her attention to me. As you have seen, I am telekinetic, that is, I can move all kinds of things by thought.
"She's the daughter of the spirit," Ezequiel clarified.
- That's it, I'm also a telepath in my spare time.
- Ah, I stammered, blushing.
I admit that the only thing I wanted to do was shrink and disappear into my sneakers. You have to admit, though, that it was quite embarrassing to learn that the girl you fell for was a telepath. I ask you the question! How would you have reacted?
Preferring to divert the conversation to a less awkward subject, I called out to Terence who was finishing eating a tomato as big as my fist.
- And you, what is your power?
- I am the son of nature, he answered enthusiastically. My thing is handling plants and communicating with them as well as with insects.
- That is great!
- I also find. It makes you strong in gardening, but from my perspective, I think the coolest power, well Hazel has it.
- Why?
- I am the girl of metal, declared the interested one. So I can create magnetic fields and command metal.
"You see," Wes said in turn. We all have special powers passed down to us from our ancestors, and this is where you will learn to master yours. You will train with us to become a Child of the Elements and when you are ready you will help us protect the Insensitive.
"The Insensible," I asked.
"Those who are not sensitive to elemental powers," Hazel explained.
I nodded. Dinner continued in a good mood. When we finished our dessert, Mr Lambert entered the living room.
- If you are finished, I recommend that you go to bed. The day of tomorrow will be devoted to your training. I want to add that Kazuki will be supervising it.
- Yeah, Terence exclaimed with forced enthusiasm. More commando training and tons of muscle aches in prospect.
I smiled to try to hide my anxiety. If this training was as hard as Terence and Mr Lambert let me believe, tomorrow was going to be a long day. As recommended by the mansion manager, everyone left the living room and as I started to follow the group, Mr Lambert pulled me back.
- You will meet me in front of my office tomorrow morning. I will supervise your training.
- Okay, I replied. See you tomorrow, sir.
I walked up the stairs and followed the hallway to my room. Night had fallen and the stars lit up the sky was black ink. I put on my pyjamas and lay down on my bed with my hands crossed behind my head. Recent events had been tougher for me than I wanted to suggest. Within hours, I had learned that I was the heir to an elemental power and that my whole life so far had been a lie. Morally exhausted, I closed my eyes and fell into a restless sleep.