Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:48:31 +0000 From: Guy Cornelius Subject: The Elemental Chapter 10 Hi Guys and Gals. As usual all the normal rules and disclaimers apply. Don't read this if you aren't allowed to where you live, don't copy it without my express permission blah blah blah! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you think at the_elemental909@hotmail.co.uk and you can also join my yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_elemental909. Chapter 10 When Tommy and Tatiana burst into the café, Tommy was sure that he heard a small explosion accompany their entrance and quickly scanned the room to see if anybody else had noticed. Nobody reacted to their arrival in any way, or to the noise he thought he'd heard, so he figured they were okay. Whilst scanning the room, he had picked out Romeo at his usual table and quickly hurried over to take a seat with Tatiana close behind. They were panting slightly from the run and the adrenalin of the attack, their faces flushed and a small cut on Tommy's neck from where the knife had been pressed against it. Tommy dabbed at the cut with a a paper napkin, wiping away the small trickle of blood while attempting to catch the attention of the waitress so that they could order a drink. He found it a little odd that Romeo hadn't greeted them yet, wondering if maybe he had forgotten who Tommy was without Marcus around. "Hello Romeo," said Tommy after placing the drinks order. "This is Tatiana. She used to work for the Masters but has decided to join us." "A pleasure to meet you, young lady," Romeo responded, scrutinising her face when he reached out to shake her hand. "I can't help getting the feeling that I recognise you from somewhere, have we met before?" "You may remember me better by my other name; The Cleanser," she whispered, her hands in her lap and her eyes downcast. She winced when she saw Romeo recoil in shock, hating that her past actions had earned her such a reputation that fear or loathing were a common reaction towards her. "My god. I...I...well, I mean...that is to say...oh my dear, this is wonderful news!" Romeo, recovering from his shock beamed from ear to ear as he stood from his chair to wrap Tatiana in an embrace. At first, surprise kept her body rigid and unsure, but when she realised Romeo meant her no harm she quickly relaxed and returned his hug. "I'm sorry if I startled you," said Romeo, returning to his chair, "but for many years now you have been very high on my list of people to avoid. Someone with abilities such as yours could uncover my every secret and foil years of planning. But, with you on our side...I just can't imagine the wealth of knowledge you must have. The things you could tell us...why, you could bring the whole plan forward by months...years even! Oh I can't wait to tell Marcus...wait...where is Marcus? He went out to find you." "He did find us," replied Tommy, "just after some gentlemen of a less than desirable nature found us. He is er...dealing with them at the moment." "Ah, I see, how terrible for you," sympathised Romeo before his face broke out into yet another enormous grin. "Oh well, a few less bastards in the world is no bad thing eh? Would you like something to eat, they do wonderful Panini's here." Tommy was about to object that this wasn't really the time to be thinking about food, but he suddenly realised just how hungry he was. He decided that Marcus would be more than capable of looking after himself and would be along shortly, so there would be no harm in grabbing a quick bite. He and Tatiana, who also admitted to be extremely hungry, ordered some food and then settled in to wait for Marcus. About half an hour later, after some more inane chat and a perfectly respectable lunch, the bell above the door chimed and Marcus threaded his way through the tables toward them. He was covered in ash, his hair was a mess and it was quite obvious that he had been crying. When he had first seen Marcus back in the alley, Tommy had been unsure how their first meeting after their fight would go. But right at that moment, all those nerves and worries went completely out the window. He didn't even stop to think that maybe Marcus was still pissed at him, right then, all he cared about was checking his boy was okay. "Babe, are you alright?" he asked quietly, but received no response. Marcus merely stared out of the window, seemingly at nothing as if completely unaware of the three concerned faces pointed in his direction. "Marcus," said Tommy again, putting his hand on his shoulder and squeezing it gently, trying to gain his attention. "Marcus, can you hear me?" Marcus turned to look at Tommy, blinked twice and then stood up, once again staring back out of the window. "I'm going back to the hotel, I'll see you later. I will arrange a room for your friend." Without waiting for any form of response, he was gone, slipping out the door before a stunned Tommy even had time to stand up. He was, understandably, quite worried. Perhaps Marcus was still pissed at him about their fight, but at least he had indicated that he expected him to come back to the hotel, and Tatiana too. His musings were cut short by Romeo, who seemed completely unphased by the whole affair. "He looks a mess, I wonder what he's been up to?" he asked, taking another sip of his drink. Tommy and Tatiana were both so surprised by the question that they missed the calculating look he gave Tommy. "Well, he erm...he was dealing with the...oh never mind. Do you think he will be okay?" asked Tommy. He had never seen Marcus so distant like that, fight or no fight. Something just wasn't right about the way he was acting. "He will be fine, he just has a lot to think about is all," replied Romeo, seemingly engrossed in a crossword in the paper he was reading and only paying the pair of them cursory notice. Tommy was nowhere near happy with this answer, but he knew that he wasn't going to get any information out of the old man. He decided to try and obtain answers to some of the other questions that had been bugging him. "Where do you fit into all this old man?" he asked, a little less than politely. "What does all this shit have to do with you? And more to the point, what the hell does it have to do with Marcus?" Surprisingly, Romeo folded the newspaper, rested it on the table, looked Tommy in the eye and smiled. "It has everything to do with him Tommy, my boy," he almost whispered. If he was aware of the antagonistic lilt in Tommy's voice, he paid it no heed. "He is quite unique you know. Oh I'm not talking about having a special skill like the Masters. I mean he is truly, one hundred percent unique. As it happens, there are one or two other beings like him, but they have a somewhat cyclical nature so they aren't seen all to often. In fact, there is only one recorded instance in history where all five are known to have co-habited at once, but I am getting ahead of myself, and now is definitely not the time for that story." Tommy and Tatiana settled into their chairs, both quite eager for the old man to continue with his story, although both for very different reasons. The café door opened again to admit a couple of new customers and a chill breeze slipped through the temporary gap, brushing over them and making Tatiana shiver. "My god, you must be freezing dressed like that," exclaimed Tommy, as though he had only just noticed her distinct lack of clothing, and shed his jacket for her. She politely refused, but Tommy just chuckled. "Tatiana, your tits are turning blue and you could take an eye out with one of those...take the coat!" She looked down and realised he was absolutely right. Her chest did seem to be going a slightly odd colour, and the two thing strips of material draped over her large breasts were doing nothing to hide the large, rock hard, ruby red nipples. With a slight giggle she accepted the proffered coat an slipped it on, thankful for the body heat stored within. "Is there anything you can tell us?" she asked, turning her attention back to a slightly blushing Romeo, his eyes rising back to her face just in time, or so he thought anyway. "Well, certain details are not up to me to divulge, but I will tell you what I can, and go some way to explaining where my presence comes in. You see, like I said, Marcus is unique. He alone has the potential to stop whatever it is the Masters are up to...well, actually, he has the potential for a shit load more than that, but I digress." Tommy choked on his drink, his surprise at hearing the old man swear temporarily over-riding his ability to sip. His composure somewhat restored and his face a little flushed, he just about managed to cough out a question. "What do you mean by that? A 'shit load more', what's all that about? I know he is powerful, I mean, we both just witnessed his raw power first hand, but you make him sound like some kind of super hero or something." A slight smile tugged at the corners of Romeo's mouth, but he subdued it and returned his face to a serious expression once again. "In time, I will come to answer that question, but not today. May I continue?" Tommy nodded, not really happy with all the dodging Romeo was doing, but knowing there was little he could do about it. "For some time now, I have been seeking out like-minded people to myself. People with magical ability who can see the Masters for who they really are...a bunch of power hungry tyrants who have lost sight of what the Guild is really for. The Guild is supposed to be a place of learning, a beacon of hope to magic users from across the country and indeed the world. The Ascension has long been the uncontested leader amongst the international community, but the current Masters are dragging it into the dust." "You Mages," muttered Tommy, unaware that Romeo had finished his little rant. "Always so proud of your ridiculous little Guild." "What was that?" asked Romeo, his piercing gaze sharp as steel while he leaned forward to stare at Tommy, deep concentration etched into his features. "You speak as though our ways are familiar to you, and yet, I can sense nothing from you." "How do you think we have remained hidden for so long?" snapped Tommy before he could stop himself. He instantly regretted his actions and desperately tried to brush off his own words but Romeo pounced before he was able to cover himself. "We? Who is we? Who are you?" Even Tatiana, who had remained quiet up to this point, seemed to be scrutinising him as though for the first time. "What? Me, nobody. Its just something I picked up from Marcus," he mumbled, hoping to somehow bury his mistake and escape from this line of questioning. "Rubbish," Tatiana cut in, surprising both men with her sultry Russian accented outburst. "I can tell when a man is lying, Tommy. In my line of work, you get to learn the physical manifestations of a lie, and you are setting off all my alarms." "Heaven help me," he muttered, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a long sigh while he stared at the ceiling and bitterly cursed his quick tongue and slow mind. "Well, you see...let me put it this way. Romeo, you are wrong in your assessment of your own powers. You can't sense magic users." "What are you talking about? Of course I can," snapped Romeo indignantly, huffing into his beard and crossing his arms over his chest. His face coloured with annoyance, the anger rising with each word. "Why I...I can feel Tatiana here, and the two men in the corner, and the men in the building down the road...can't sense magic users indeed!" "No, I'm sorry, but you can't. Although really it is just a matter of semantics," replied Tommy, appeasing Romeo slightly by peaking his interest. "You see, what you can sense are Mages." "Mages, magic users...same thing," grumbled Romeo. "No, it's not." Tommy made eye contact with Romeo and tried to impress upon him what he was trying to say, without actually having to say it. "For centuries you mages have believed you are the only ones, but you aren't. There are others." Suddenly Romeo wasn't angry and more, he was enthralled, as was Tatiana. They both stared at him like he had three heads, although neither cut in to disagree with him. "You think you are the only ones because, over the last few millennia, the rest of us have kept our heads down...fallen off the radar, as it were." "What do you mean 'the rest of us'?" breathed Romeo, his eyes wide as saucers and he hung on every word Tommy said, shifting his chair that little bit closer, as though it might help him to hear them that little bit quicker. "You've heard of them all, but as far as you are concerned, they are just children's stories designed to frighten and entertain. Stories of beasts and monsters, heros and villains...but stories have to start from somewhere." "What are you trying to say," asked Romeo, his forehead creasing in frustration, "that, you're some kind of...I dunno...some kind of vampire or something?" He laughed openly when he said this, but the serious look on Tommy's face made him check himself. "Not vampire, Romeo...druid." As soon as the word left his lips, the honeysuckle vine in the corner of the café that had, up until that moment, looked pretty dead, burst into bloom. It swiftly flooded the room with its sweet aroma and proudly displayed its little white flowers. "A...druid? That's impossible, there's no such thing! We would know about you!" stated Romeo, unwilling to believe the evidence displayed before him. "There you go again with your arrogance. You think you are the top dogs around here but you aren't. You think you are the only ones with any power, but you aren't. I am part of a network of magical beings so vast that it makes your Guild look like an after school geek-a-thon. What's the matter Romeo, you look like you're in pain," asked Tommy in a honey-sweet voice. Romeo did indeed look as though he were fighting with pain, pain which seemed to be coming from his leg. He pushed away from the table and looked down to discover a thick, green vine snaking its way up and round his leg, gradually applying more pressure like a Boa Constrictor suffocating its prey. "Okay, okay," he gasped, clutching at the vine and trying to prise it off. "I stand corrected!" Tommy retracted the vine and smiled an angelic smile, like a child who had just been told he could open his Christmas presents early. Tatiana, however, was deep in thought, processing this new information and trying to decide how to act upon it. She decided to bide her time. She was here for a reason, and right now that was more important than exploring the further realms of magical use. Romeo, who has somewhat recovered from his surprise, was also deep in thought. He also had a purpose, and it seemed to him that this new information may come in very handy, he just had to work out how. "Tommy, how easily can you contact these people?" he asked, slowly letting the cogs in his mind keep spinning while he attempted to formulate some sort of plan. "Well," said Tommy, slightly taken aback that Romeo was accepting the truth so easily, "it has been quite some time since I last tried to contact anybody from my old life, but I suppose I can give it a go." He shifted uneasily in his seat, the thought of voluntarily contacting the people he had been avoiding almost his entire life was not one he looked upon with relish. "Old life? What do you mean?" queried Romeo. "I thought you said you were a part of this network." Romeo appeared agitated to him when he asked this, almost desperate to be told that he had heard wrong or had misunderstood in some way. "Well, I am...I mean, I was born into it, but I left many years ago. I'm...well, I think to them I am somewhat akin to what Marcus is to you." Tommy tripped over his words and stumbled through the sentence, almost embarrassed to be admitting it out loud. He had spent years trying to forget his old life, trying to be somebody other than his power and here he was contemplating jumping right back in, feet first! "What do you mean akin to Marcus?" asked Tatiana, taking an active part in the conversation for the first time. She immediately regretted asking, not wanting to seem overly interested, but it seemed neither man really noticed. "I didn't say akin to Marcus, I said akin to what Marcus is to you," he replied, gesturing to Romeo with a tip of his head. He rested his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers, resting his chin on the bridge they created and, with a sigh, continued. "You treat him as though he is some kind of supreme being or saviour or something like that. Well, that is how I was treated as a child. You see, amongst my people, I am extremely powerful. I can move forests with the slightest thought, bring dying plants back to life and many other things that even the strongest, most revered Druids throughout our history could only ever dream of achieving. As a child, I was practically worshipped, but constantly enslaved at the same time. Eventually, I had enough, and decided I had to leave. That was fourteen years ago, and I haven't been in contact with anybody from my old life since then." When he looked up from the table, Romeo was as white as a sheet, his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish out of water. At first Tommy thought it might have been from fear or maybe a bad reaction to his food, but when he started muttering nonsense to himself, he thought that maybe it was shock. "It can't be...not possible...never before...two at the same time?" He looked deep into Tommy's eyes when he said this last part, as though searching for the answer to some unuttered question. Tatiana gently placed her hand on his shoulder, worried that he might have been having some kind of episode, but he jumped at her touch and seemed to pull himself together. "I'm, er, sorry about that, you just took me a bit by surprise is all." Romeo cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink while the colour returned to his cheeks. Inside he was screaming with excitement, but tried to act as nonchalantly as possible, desperate not to let on to the two young mages at the table just how excited he was. "So Tommy, do you have any way of contacting any of your old Druid friends after such a long time?" "Yes...well...at least, I think I do. Once of my unique abilities is a kind of long distance psychic communication, but I don't know if the Arch Druid I knew is still alive." "And how long would it take for your message to reach them?" probed Romeo, still trying to act like he didn't really care. "Well, if it actually got through, it would be almost instantaneous." Tommy saw through Romeo's act straight away, but decided to let the old man come to him. He was reticent to contact his elders enough as it was, so if Romeo wanted to play games and delay things, that was fine by him. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the case. "I know it's asking a lot Tommy, but I wonder if you wouldn't mind trying to send a message to them for me...now." Romeo looked apologetic when he asked, but from his tone it was clear this was of great importance to him. "I can't here," replied Tommy. "There are certain requirements that can't be met here. I have to be outside and I have to be in a natural area...like a park or a wood or something. I have a feeling that the plants somehow convey my messages and their responses." "Responses? So all you Druids can do this?" asked Tatiana, throwing her charade of indifference to the wind. "No," chuckled Tommy. "Like I said, it is unique to me. But by sending a message to someone, it opens a sort of link to them and allows them to 'talk' back to me. As long as I maintain the link...almost like a phone call, but without the phone...its just a matter of keeping the line open." "I see," murmured Romeo. "Very interesting, very interesting indeed. Well, there is a park nearby, just a short walk from here. Perhaps we could take a stroll over there?" "Sure, I don't see why not," shrugged Tommy, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to have to delve back into his old life. "Master Nathaniel!" squeaked a shocked security guard. "We weren't expecting you." "Of course you weren't," snapped Nathaniel. "A surprise inspection wouldn't be much of a surprise if you were expecting me, now would it you buffoon." Nathaniel was irritable and groggy. He had had to get up absurdly early and spent most of the day in the car driving up to the complex in Glasgow that Marcus had recently broken out of. Just the thought of that name sent spasms of rage through his body. "No, of course not sir! If you wouldn't mind just signing here I'll take you right..." The guards lifeless body slumped to the ground, a large burn mark smouldering into his chest where Nathaniel had hit him point blank with a powerful energy sphere. "Idiot," he muttered while stepping over the convulsing body and marched towards the entrance of the compound. He had had enough of the vague, non-committal reports he had been getting from Aaron, so decided to go up and sort it out personally. The mere fact that this was required pissed him off no end, and the car journey didn't help either. He stormed into the building and was instantly recognised, causing scientists, security, maintenance and mages alike to scatter in all directions, attempting to avoid Nathaniel's infamous wrath. "AARON," he bellowed while he strode into the main command centre, "where the bloody hell are you, you useless excuse for a man." Aaron quickly bustled into the room, wiping away the evidence of the supper he had been trying to enjoy. He quickly bowed, making sure to avert his gaze from the Master in front of him, a man with whom he was technically an equal. "Lord Nathaniel, I'm surprised to see you all the way up here. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Aaron was surprised to see Nathaniel in Glasgow, but it saved him a journey, so he was actually quite pleased. He had recently come into some good news that he was going to give to Nathaniel in person at the London headquarters, but now he didn't have to worry about the long, boring trip down there. He was slightly miffed though...he would have quite liked the other Masters to see his brief moment of glory. "Pleasure?" yelled Nathaniel, "I've just spent 6 hours in a bloody car to get here because the bumbling idiots that we call staff couldn't even organise a bloody jet." Spittle flew everywhere whenhe vented his anger, and Aaron quickly realised that good news or not, he would have to tread carefully for the next few hours. "Anyway, I'm fed up with the pathetic reports you've been sending me. You keep promising results and as yet we haven't seen any! I did you a favour by putting you in charge of the Tesla Project, Aaron. And so far you are letting me down! I want a tour of this facility right now and I want to know why we aren't getting anywhere and why you haven't sent a report in two days!" "But Nathaniel..." started Aaron meekly, desperately trying to halt the flow of the tirade he was receiving before anything untoward happened. "Don't interrupt me boy! You're presence as a Master is tenuous at best. I can quite easily find a replacement for you, and will do happily if we don't start getting some successes up here..." "But we have, Nathaniel!" screeched Aaron, throwing caution to the wind and risking further displeasure. "I said don't interrupt me!" roared Nathaniel, striking Aaron across the face with a swift back-hander. Aaron saw it coming before Nathaniel had even moved his hand and could have easily dodged it thanks to his unique ability, but he knew better than to do so. His face stung as his cheek turned bright red, but not nearly as much as his pride did. Perhaps it was best that this didn't happen in London with all those eyes watching and laughing. "Wait...what did you say?" "I said," muttered Aaron dejectedly, "that we HAVE had success. I didn't want to bother you with another failure, which is why I haven't sent a report in a few days. I wanted to be sure that the link really would hold this time before I told you about it." Nathaniel's countenance quickly changed to that of an excited child. He was practically bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet when he asked his next question. "How many, how long?" "Four. They have been linked for just over 47 hours now and seem to be reacting just as we had hoped. Complete and total unity. They stand as one, they sit as one, they walk as one...they even eat as one. Come, I'll show you." Aaron took Nathaniel by the elbow and led him down a series of corridors until they reached an observation room above on of the compounds laboratories. It had been converted into a living area of sorts, with bunk beds, sofas, a book shelf and various other things to keep its inhabitants entertained. Nathaniel looked down into the large room, at first believing it to be empty, but then he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He gasped slightly when he saw them. Three men and one woman, all in black robes, sitting as still as statues in the far corner of the room. Aaron grinned to himself when he saw his Masters reaction. "The woman is the key. All our previous test subjects have been male, but it just so happened that this batch contained a female. We've done some tests and it turns out that the female brain is much stronger than the male brain. That doesn't mean to say that they have stronger abilities than the males, although I am sure some of them do, as with everything else. But that the physical construction of the female brain seems to be stronger, and its that strength that seems to hold the Tesla bond together." Aaron was becoming excited while he explained this to Nathaniel, hoping that if he were able to get him excited about it, he may be more generous in his thanks...and perhaps even rewards. Sadly this dream was quickly shattered when Nathaniel suddenly switched back to his aggressive, sharp self. "Good," he snapped, "have the information sent to the other seven compounds and have phase two started immediately. I want at least a thousand linked and in training by the end of the week." "But Nathaniel," stuttered Aaron, "that's only four days away. Where will we find so many..." "You have the largest and strongest Guild in the world at your disposal...where the hell do you THINK you will find them? By the end of the month, I want them all!" Nathaniel's voice was cool and calm while he said this, the anger seemingly vanished. Aaron knew full well, however, that it was still there, bubbling away beneath the surface. His face blanched and his jaw fell open when he realised the full extent of what Nathaniel was asking. At last count the Ascension was made up of some fifty thousand mages of varying abilities. If Nathaniel's plans came to fruition, he would be unstoppable. Romeo and Tatiana stood in the small park in central London, surrounded by trees and grass, waiting while Tommy prepared himself. "Will it take long?" asked Romeo, a nervous tremor to his voice. "Quiet," snapped Tommy. He didn't mean to sound quite so harsh, but the thought of what he was about to do made him irritable and the response had left his mouth before he was able to stop it. Romeo jumped slightly from the rebuke, but did as he was told, choosing instead to take Tatiana's hand and wait as long as was necessary. He was actually slightly surprised when she didn't pull away and looked over to see the tall Russian woman smiling down at him. Tommy, however, was allowing his senses to sink into the earth around him, sensing out the links he required. Nobody had ever really been able to explain what he did or how he did it, but he could feel the channels connecting every plant form on the planet. Just like every other Druid on the planet, he knew that every plant form on the planet was able to communicate with each other. However, unlike every other Druid on the planet, he was the only one who could sense the channels that they used. With a little practise, he had learnt to tap into these channels and realised that he too could communicate with the plants. From there, it was just a small jump on to using them to communicate with other people...although he still wasn't completely sure how that bit worked. After a minute of two of silent concentration he felt the connection establish with its target and moments later, he felt a wave of surprise assail him. "Arch Druid Smith?" he asked. He waited a moment or two and then asked again. He was already irritable, but being ignored pissed him off even more. "Don't ignore me, old man. I can feel our connection. I felt your surprise when it was established. Even now your confusion washes over me in waves. Or have you forgotten just how strong I was? Imagine what I can do now." He sent the tiniest hint of pain thrumming through the link, and was satisfied to feel it connect with its target. "Do not test my patience Arch Druid." "I...I'm sorry my child. It's just...well it's been...Thomas, is that really you?" Well, that's it for chapter 10 guys. Let me know what you think by dropping me an email and make sure you join the yahoo group if you haven't already. I know we writers sound like a broken record, but the only payment we get is feedback, so I really would love to hear from you (and if I ever try to get published, good emails from fans is a HUGE tick in my favour :-D hehe).