Elemental Power

Chapter 1-1

1

Ridley Kayne stood in the living room of the cramped apartment that should have felt like home, but now seemed a bizarre mix of familiar and foreign. It wasn’t the piece of plastic concealing the jagged hole in the window, or the wooden crate that had replaced the broken coffee table, or even the dark, wet patch on the floor where Ridley and her father had wiped away blood less than an hour ago. It was the secrets Ridley now knew lurked in every shadowed corner of this apartment.

It was also the person sitting on the couch across the room.

“Grandpa?” she whispered, her eyes trained on the elderly man. Goosebumps crawled across her arms and up the back of her neck. The letter with the tree drawing on it—the letter that had finally told Ridley exactly what she was—slipped from her fingers. The man on the couch seemed thinner than she remembered, and his hair was completely gray. But it was, without a doubt, Jonas Kayne.

With some difficulty, he pushed himself to his feet. “Ridley. Little Riddles. You’re so grown-up.”

She shook her head and reached back to grip the doorframe. Her knees decided she might handle this situation better on the floor, so they slowly gave in. “This isn’t real,” she said, her own voice reaching her ears as if from a great distance as she knelt in the doorway.

“Ridley,” her father said, rising hastily from the armchair. “I know this must be a huge shock for you, but—”

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper. “First that—” she gestured shakily to the letter on the floor “and then … this?” She looked up and met Grandpa’s eyes. “I went to your funeral. I know I was little, but I definitely remember a funeral. You died!”

“Ridley.” Dad moved closer and reached for her arm.

“No, don’t touch me.” She shrank away from his touch. “You’ve been lying to me about everything. It was bad enough when I thought it was just all the stuff in that letter, but you lied about Grandpa as well?” She managed to climb to her feet, tucking her blond hair—still damp from her recent shower—behind her ear. “What is going on? Did I accidentally step into an alternate reality tonight? One of my best friends is a murderer, I’m some weird version of human called an elemental, and my grandfather isn’t dead?”

Dad and Grandpa exchanged a glance, and for several moments, the only sound in the apartment was the music playing quietly in the background. Ridley grabbed the remote from the makeshift crate-coffee table, pointed it at the vintage sound system, and turned it off. Then she tossed the remote back onto the crate. “Explain.”

“Why don’t you sit?” Dad suggested.

“I don’t want to sit. I want answers.”

“No hug for your grandfather?” Grandpa asked, giving her a sheepish smile. His gray eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “I know you’re upset and confused, but it’s so good to see you, Ridley. I’ve missed you all these years.”

Ridley folded her arms over her pajama top and didn’t move an inch toward Grandpa. “Are you like me?” she asked. “Are you also an elemental? And don’t you dare lie.”

Grandpa shook his head. “I’m not an elemental. No one else in our family is.” He lowered himself to the couch. “You may not want to sit, but I’m an old man. I can’t stand for long these days.”

“It wasn’t all a lie,” Dad said, his piercing blue eyes staring into Ridley’s. Like her, he remained standing. “Grandpa did get sick. He was in the hospital for a legitimate reason. But …” Dad looked at Grandpa. “He didn’t actually die.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Ridley muttered. “Why the hell would you pretend to be dead?”

“Because there are things I know,” Grandpa said. “Certain conjurations. Old, dangerous ones that most historians believe were forgotten centuries ago.”

Ridley blinked and shook her head. “Conjurations? This is about conjurations? What conjurations?”

“We don’t need to go into that. The point is, the wrong people found out. They wanted me to pass on my knowledge. I refused. They began to threaten my family. The stress of it all is what landed me in hospital. And while I was there …” He let out a long sigh. “I decided it would be better if I never left. Not officially, anyway. Your parents …” Grandpa’s eyes moved to Dad, but Dad refused to look at him now. “Well, after many arguments, they agreed to help me. We didn’t exactly part on good terms though. We haven’t been in contact much since I left the city and went into hiding. Especially after the Cataclysm. Staying in touch became even harder then.”

“So … then …” Ridley shook her head, still trying to accept the fact that this wasn’t a dream. “Why are you back now?”

“I became aware late last night of a threat to all the elementals living in Lumina City. Naturally, I was concerned for your safety. I contacted your father, and he told me not to worry. That he would try to find out what was going on. But I’d already decided to come. I left early this morning and traveled the entire day. Only got here about twenty minutes ago.” He looked at Dad. “First time I’ve seen my son in more than a decade, and the first thing he said was that I shouldn’t have come. That he’d already taken care of the problem.”

“Can we please not do this now?” Dad said to Grandpa in clipped tones. “Ridley doesn’t need to witness the dysfunctional side of our family.”

“I really don’t care how dysfunctional this family is,” Ridley said, “as long as no one’s lying to me anymore.”

“On that note,” Grandpa said. “Your father—”

“Don’t,” Dad interrupted.

“Don’t what?” Ridley asked.

“Don’t get involved,” Dad said to Grandpa. “I will explain things to Ridley.”

“Really? You haven’t exactly done much—” Ridley stopped at the sound of a creak on the stairs leading up to their apartment from the store below. Her head whipped toward the doorway at the top of the stairs. Grandpa pushed himself to his feet again. “Are you expecting someone?” he whispered.

“Calm down,” Dad told him. “It’s probably just—”

“Mrs. Lin?” Ridley said as the petite woman from across the street appeared at the top of the stairs. Ridley had known her for years, but all of a sudden it felt as if she were looking at a stranger. This wasn’t just Shen’s mother. She was the woman who knew as many secrets as Shen did. She knew what Ridley was. And just like Dad and Shen, Mrs. Lin had never said a word to Ridley.

“I only saw the message a few minutes ago,” Mrs. Lin said, a smile deepening the wrinkles around her eyes as she looked at Grandpa. “It’s so good to see you again, Jonas,” she added as she crossed the room. She wrapped her arms around Grandpa, and he returned the embrace.

“You too, Mei. It’s been far too long.”

Ridley’s mouth fell open. Then she shook her head. “Why am I surprised that you know about this secret?” she said, throwing her hands up. “Of course you know my grandfather isn’t dead. Just like you know about every other secret Dad’s been keeping for years.”

“Ridley, I didn’t see you over …” Mrs. Lin trailed off as a frown wrinkled her brow. “Other secrets?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Ridley said. “I only found out minutes ago, but Shen already knew. He wasn’t surprised at all when he saw me using my own magic earlier tonight. He told me his family knows too.” Shen had said his family understood what was at stake. That they’d looked out for Ridley just as he had. His words made no sense at the time, but he hadn’t stopped to explain any further before shooting the mayor’s son, jumping off the side of a building, and making a dramatic escape on a scanner drone. But Ridley now understood what he meant. “I’m an elemental,” she said slowly and clearly to Mrs. Lin. “You want to tell me you don’t know about that?”

“Ah,” Mrs. Lin said, her gaze falling on Dad. “Those secrets. I wasn’t aware those were out in the open now.”

“She received a letter,” Dad said, pointing to where the folded page lay on the floor.

“I see.” Mrs. Lin nodded. “Well, perhaps I should make us all some tea?” she suggested.

“No,” Ridley answered before Dad or Grandpa could say anything. “No tea.” She bent quickly and retrieved the letter. “Your whole family gets to know the truth about what I am, so don’t you think it’s time I get to know?”

“Not my whole family,” Mrs. Lin corrected as she lowered herself to sit beside Grandpa. “The younger two don’t know yet. But Bo and I know, and we told Shen soon after the Cataclysm when the two of you became friends. My parents, my grandparents …” She settled on the couch. “I come from a long line of people who have always known about elementals and have committed themselves to protecting them. We know about the myths that are so old barely anyone remembers them. The myths that were never myths.”

“What myths?”

“The old stories that speak of a time when some people were born with magic in their blood. They didn’t have to pull it from the elements. They still learned to manipulate it with conjurations, but the elements—in their raw form—would respond to a person’s will without the need for any conjuration. According to the stories, these people lived more in harmony with nature. Those who had to work harder to pull magic from the world were jealous of those who had easier access to power, and so they tried to get rid of them. The stories say that none of these people survived, which we know, of course—” she gestured to Ridley “—isn’t true. Elementals did survive, and they’ve been living in hiding for centuries. Barely anyone knows about them. Even those who live in secret beneath our city, practicing magic illegally, have no idea of the existence of elementals.”

“But how has it remained a secret?” Ridley asked. “If my parents hadn’t told me to keep it to myself, I’m sure I would have told people.”

“Those who don’t know they should be hiding don’t last long, I’m afraid,” said Mrs. Lin. “Did your letter mention the Shadow Society?” Ridley nodded as she looked down at the page in her hand, then placed it on the crate. “Well, there you go,” Mrs. Lin continued. “That’s what happens. The Shadow Society gets rid of them, and a*********s floating around become rumors that are forgotten.”

Ridley looked at her father. “And how long have you known about all this? A few years? My whole life?”

Dad’s eyes rose slowly to meet hers. “Longer than that.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she cried. “I can understand you keeping this secret from the rest of the world, but from me?”

Dad opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“We all keep secrets, Ridley,” Mrs. Lin said quietly. “Surely you have your own?”

Ridley met the older woman’s gaze as the memory of every theft she’d ever committed slammed into her. Of course she’d never told Dad what she spent her free time doing. He wouldn’t approve. But sometimes it was the only way to make a difference, and Ridley refused to feel ashamed for what she’d done. “Yes,” she said, pulling herself a little straighter even as her cheeks flushed. “I do have secrets. But they’re nothing compared to this. They’re nothing compared to telling me my grandfather is dead when he isn’t. Or compared to keeping important information from me about how I’m … I don’t know, a different species!”

“I don’t think that’s technically correct,” Mrs. Lin murmured.

“Ridley.” Dad looked at her with pleading eyes. “You have to know that I’ve only ever wanted to protect you. Surely you understand that?”

“Yes, I understand that, Dad. I do. But protection doesn’t have to equal lying to me.”

“It would have made no difference to the way you lived your life if I’d told you the truth. You still would have had to keep your magic a secret.”

“Of course it would have made a difference! I would have grown up knowing I wasn’t a complete freak. I would have known I wasn’t alone.” She swung away from him, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she swallowed against the emotion tightening her throat. “I can’t believe you kept this from me. This is a fundamental part of who I am, and you decided I didn’t need to know about it.”

“Riddles …”

“No, seriously.” Her voice grew higher in pitch and took on a wobbly quality, but she fought the tears back. “Maybe it made sense when I was little, but now? Dad, I’ll be eighteen soon. I’m not a child anymore.” She faced him again. “Were you ever planning to tell me the truth?”

Instead of answering, Dad stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Ridley. She stood there, her back rigid, her arms pinned to her sides, pressing her lips tightly together as she refused to cry. “I’m so sorry,” Dad said. “I didn’t really have a plan. I just wanted to keep you away from all of this for as long as possible. It’s dangerous. Extremely dangerous.”

“I know,” Ridley murmured against his shoulder. “It’s life-and-death kind of dangerous. But knowing there are others like me wouldn’t have changed that.”