Ember swings the door to her room open. I shudder as I stare inside her room. Piles of clothes lie in a crumpled heap on the floor. The bed is unmade, and on it is the biggest fire hazard I have ever seen: a lighter, and a box of matches. Her desk is littered with wool, thread, needles, and unfinished clothes and patterns. The board hanging on the wall is scattered with notes and clothing designs. A pile of mannequin parts lie around, untouched. In short, her room is a complete and total mess.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYmG0S30hc
“Whoa,” I say. “It looks like a hurricane hit here.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWXfF5PX9A
Savannah laughs, a sweet melody. “It often does. She says it’s a ‘system’.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eZTGgTHPP
“An effective system, if I do say so myself. And I do.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sJFvYNSLo
I pick my way through the mess, carefully shifting the lighter and sitting at the foot of Ember’s bed.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5n4xisAZiq
“So? What are we talking about?” I ask.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZnUJBJLGq
“You’re very eager to hear this, huh?” Ember says.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UAUqUwuzf
Savannah facepalms. “What did I tell you about beating around the bush? We want to talk about what happened this morning. You said your day was a disaster, you were thinking about it, and then it started to rain. Right?” I nod. “Well, this morning, I woke up in a really good mood, right? And then a tree appeared out of nowhere. As in, it grew from my bedposts in a matter of seconds.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5xjDcJvh9
“And this morning, there was an incident with my eggs,” Ember says sadly. “I was just trying to have breakfast. Liam was his usual annoying self, and I got angry. The next thing I know - whoosh! Fire!” She mimes a mini explosion of sorts and makes a fist with one hand. “Then my eggs were gone. Poof.” She releases the fist.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwljLxkClG
Savannah smiles. “She’s very expressive.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFbblondJp
From what I know, it’s Savannah and Ember’s sixteenth birthday, and it also happens to be mine. This morning, we each had different incidents. I was in a bad mood, and it rained. Savannah was in a good mood, and a tree sprouted and grew from her bedposts within seconds. And Ember was miffed, then her eggs… Um. Whoosh. Fire. Poof. I wonder…278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxvZHdN0HO
“Do you know what time this happened? The tree and the, um, eggs?” I ask.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOSQZYXlg9
“Around eight thirty,” Savannah and Ember chorus.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhhXBWkUGi
“So the rain, the tree, the eggs. They all happened at the exact same time, on the exact same day,” I murmur. “Well, even so, it doesn’t mean we have anything to do with each other. Rain, no matter when it falls, is just rain. Maybe a seed fell near your bedposts.” I turn to Ember. “And maybe the fire was too… fiery.” 278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEeijtxyEK
Ember snorts as I say this, but Savannah just shakes her head. “It’s like I always say. Once is chance. Twice is a coincidence. And three times?” She looks at Ember and I. “That’s a pattern. There’s something going on here, something supernatural. For whatever reason, the three of us are involved. It’s our job to get to the bottom of this.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GlP3fchYQ
Someone starts to clap. At first, I think it’s Ember, but I turn to the door, where it’s coming from. A boy leans against the door, with the same fiery aura as Ember. His hair, though as flaming as Ember’s, is a duller red, almost brown, but not quite. His eyes, unlike Ember’s, are like pools of molten gold, priceless and coveted by all. His shirt is orange, coupled with a black hoodie, and he’s wearing fingerless gloves, making him seem edgy. Orange headphones hand around his neck, and his humming suggests he used them recently.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dwtXxFnPc
“Now that, Van,” he says, walking towards us. “Is why I always call you a poet. No, a bard.” He raises his hand dramatically and continues in a dramatic voice. “Nay, the greatest bard of them all, worthy of the best lyre money and adoration can buy!”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuOlSDoP64
Savannah’s cheeks turn red as she says, “Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMad0FQyRH3
“Ugh,” Ember says, scrunching her nose.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCx0t1u6OX
“So, Em. Ready to admit I’m right, hermanita?”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uXZPN0vpd
I’m no Spanish expert, but it makes sense that this boy is Ember’s brother. Older, though? We’ll see, I suppose.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5ZHZ3QBNx
“Never, hermano mio.” She turns away from the boy.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqa2NnAy7x
The boy nods at me. “Quién es ella?”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZqurHaMvJ
“Um, me llamo Cordelia?” I try.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UJHMdhjJ6
The boy laughs. “I like her. Me llamo Liam.”
“So, what is all this about?” I ask, slipping comfortably back to English.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnlvMCnKhF
Liam recites, “Three forces elemental thou must seek,
The first the one from the creek.
Her powers still asleep,
She must return to the deep,
There great challenges she must defeat,
Then her powers shall be complete.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyRXx0O0MT
The second force is one with the earth,
She must also prove her worth.
Sniff out the traitor in her midst,
And she and earth will coexist.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzu75Uoy0x4
The third and last is of the fire,
The situation is becoming dire.
The traitor’s claims she must dismiss,
Or risk everything tumbling into the abyss.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxm7i0ifkMn
The fate of the realms elementals is at stake,
The balance must not break.
The final battle can be won,
If the girls’ challenges are overcome.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVtGwpSz9m
Ember rolls her eyes, and Savannah scoffs. They’ve clearly heard this many times before. I, on the other hand, am just confused. “Sorry, what?”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqopphHa379
Liam doesn’t answer, his stare blank. Ember starts to mutter in Spanish as she walks over to him and snaps her fingers under his nose. He jolts back to the present. “Huh? Oh, prophecy. Duh. Em here is ‘of the fire’, Van is ‘one with the earth’, which makes you, Cordelia, ‘the one from the creek’.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVL1NbYgfw
This is all so ridiculous. Elemental forces? Really? This is based off of three coincidences that probably have nothing to do with each other. I clap slowly. “Wow. Wow. That was great. But… you called me over to show me your play? You could have just told me so.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0flQphOcD
All three of them stare at me, mouths hanging open. Finally, Ember speaks. “Ay, ay, ay, who knew she was such a dipshit?”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCStVbJy3pN
“Emmy!” Savannah snaps.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tnvBhFIfI
“What?”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNTfD7bveD
“This is real, Cordelia,” Liam says, leaning against Ember’s desk.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttIle2LUKS
I scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I say, standing. “Call me when you decide you want to be serious.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nJBFhF6Va
When I get to the door, Liam calls after me, “Call me when you decide you want to listen.”278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXykNWxq88
And I walk out the door, feeling like I’ve made a big mistake.278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP689dpRdND
