Authors: Annalynne Thorne
She smiled lightly at the passing memory but went on with what she had been saying. "I thought the element Earth was useless. And, by the way, we don't know his name. He didn't give us anything except rudeness. He didn't even want us to have that paper. He snapped mine out of my hands.
The point is, we don't know him. We have to find a way to get to him. Right now, he hates us."
"Why?" Marissa questioned.
"I don't know, but he does. He did seem to take an interest in Era."
Era sighed, "What makes you think that?"
"He was looking at you softer."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"When he's shooting daggers, then yes, it means a lot." She pulled into their driveway winking at Era slyly.
Terra and Era half heartedly bickered their way up to their porch. One look at the door stopped them, Terra's house key poised at the lock as she read the note tacked in front of her.
Dear New Neighbors,
We wanted to welcome you to our town. We are so glad to have you and we hope that you enjoy it here. You weren't home so we'll come by tomorrow with some goodies we baked to make you feel right at home!
Have a good day!
Beneath it was a long list of names in various styles, some cursive and others printed neatly. A few were only legible to chickens.
"It's sickening, isn't it?"
The three of them turned to see the library boy at the bottom of their steps. The air didn't crackle like it had before, but he still did not look happy. The pie in his hands didn't soften up his appearance.
"No, we don't have an Andy and Barney." He groaned as if it was hurting him to say. "Look, my grandmother wanted me to try and drop this off again. It's just a pie, and she's missing an earring, so don't sue me if you crack a tooth or swallow the damn thing."
Era skipped down and placed her hands next to his under the pan. "Thank you. What's your name?"
"Bryne Sparks."
"Appropriate." Era joked.
"What do you mean?"
"Come in and we'll talk about it."
Bryne hesitated for a moment but shook his head. "No, sorry. I can't. Have to get home." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his over sized jeans and began walking away, just as he had done in the library, but he wasn't going to get by with that as easily THIS time.
Marissa rushed to him, her fingertips grazing his bare shoulder, but just as she did she retracted, as if he'd burnt her. At the same time he whirled around to face her, staring at her lowly. "Don't
ever
touch me."
"I'm sorry... I just..."
"Spit it out." He held up a hand. "On second thought, don't. I don't want your germs on me. What is it, kid?"
Marissa’s eyes glittered and she did something that surprised them all. "You know, for
welcoming
new neighbors you're awfully rude. We're here to find and help you. Don't be stupid, fire, you need us!"
He stepped back. "What did you call me?"
"Stupid. You are." Marissa repeated.
"Not that!" he said.
Her face fell, realizing what she had called him. "Oh... Fire. I called you Fire."
“What do you know?” Bryne scoffed.
As if choreographed, Terra and Era joined them, standing on either side of Marissa like a barrier. The start of an army. It was hardly a metaphor, for they would be an army.
Terra inhaled deeply readying herself for what she was going to say. “We know that you're what we've been looking for.”
What if they couldn't write a happily ever after? Was there any such thing? After all, all of the original fairy tales were tragedies. The remakes told lies.
On the counter in the kitchen the pie sat forgotten. Terra, Era, and Marissa gathered around the table in contemplation of what had happened out there. Terra thought maybe she got the answers to her unasked questions. Bryne was certainly nothing like them in regards to how they handled it, and he hadn't even been told yet.
"
You're all are crazy! I don't know what you're talking about,"
he had spat vehemently like venom before storming off away from them.
Marissa's chin rested on her hands staring at a burnt hole, her pinky tracing the edge thoughtfully. "He didn't mean it. I felt it. He was scared because he knew that we knew what he could do. He was just being defensive is all."
"Why would he leave," Terra inquired. "Why is he scared? He knows what we are, right?"
"He knows, but why he left and why he won't talk with us, I don't know."
"You'll find out?"
"Yes."
"Good luck with that." Terra raked her fingers through her hair, a nervous gesture. Like a movie clip running behind her eyelids, she remembered Marissa going after him. "What was that jerk motion when you went after him? And what was with you going off? I've never seen you act like that before." Terra asked.
"Oh... I don't know... He... I feel ashamed now, but what I felt... It hurt me. It made me want to hurt him, it made me boil. That's not like me," Marissa insisted desperately, "I've never felt that way before!"
"We know that, Issa. It's odd behavior for you."
"I don't know what came over me..."
"What are we going to do, Terra," Era asked, "you're the leader."
It was no matter that Era was a year older than her, Terra had taken the natural role of leadership long ago. She guessed it was because Aunt Gwen was gone a lot and Terra had practically raised Marissa. When Era came in it was respected that that was how things were. She wasn't sure how respected it would be when Bryne came in officially, but they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it; when he stopped burning them down...
Truth was, she didn't know what to do. Stalking him was out of the question. So was kidnapping. Persuading him was just a preposterous idea, his stubborn nature making it next to impossible, but what other choice did they have? How were they even going to convince him?
Era stood and went to the counter taking out three clear glasses from the overhead cabinets, and apple juice from the fridge. Once poured, she brought them back, and the silence ensued, a heavy blanket over them. There was the soft thudding as they set their glasses on the wood table top along with Marissa's own nervous gesture of tapping her foot.
There was only one thought of how to solve their problem, and that was to get the Kin involved. It would be a group effort, almost like an intervention. Unlike the three of them, the entirety of them was experienced. They would know what to do.
"Is there a clan near here?" Terra questioned.
"You're thinking of an intercession," Era guessed.
"Why not? I think it'll work, he'll have to listen. If he doesn't believe..."
"How can he not believe? We all have powers. I can only imagine what fire would have."
"He knows," Marissa voiced, "he has to. We all did."
"If there's no clan here... If he was like Era..."
Terra tugged at her tresses again. There had to be a way. "Any ideas Era?"
"We talk to him, if he doesn't listen, we'll go back to the drawing board."
The doorknob jangled and opened, the white noise of the rain and the fresh ions filling the room. Sloshing inside in her black knee boots and dripping hair was Aunt Gwen.
"Hello girls. What are you doing?"
"We found fire," Marissa said, smiling, all impossibilities of the situation gone at the celebratory news.
"Really?" Aunt Gwen kicked off her high heeled boots, hung her jacket on the brass hook, and ran over to take the last seat at the table leaving wet prints and drops in her path. "That is wonderful? How? Tell me everything!"
Just as the blanket had retreated it was back smothering them. "He doesn't want anything to do with us," Marissa choked.
Terra laid a hand over Marissa’s as if it could have soothed the rejection she was feeling. "Era and I met him at the library. We knew immediately who he was, but the boy has an attitude. The only one he seems remotely fond of is Era." Era rolled her eyes. "We have a plan; we're going to try to talk with him again."
"Do you have a back-up plan?"
"No, we'll get to that if this doesn't work."
Aunt Gwen looked apprehensive. "Look, girls. You don't have a lot of time. You four may be in the same vicinity, but that does not make you safe. Not until you are together, and as it is, you're in more danger now than you've ever been in. You're too close and that poses a threat." She pushed herself to her feet, and in turn kissed their foreheads, right under their hairline. "I love you, but there's only so much I can do for you. Move fast. I'm going to bed; I have to be up in the morning. Don't you stay up late Marissa, you have school.”
“Yes ma'am.”
The three sipped their juice, and Terra waited with bated breath as Era listened to their guardian climbing the steps and go into her room. As they waited, she devised another plan in her head. They wouldn't wait until morning. If they were to try only in the daylight then it would take twice as long. Aunt Gwen was right, they didn't have much time, and anyone with a shred of common sense would stop it then.
That train of thought begged the question: Where has the danger been? They had never had their lives put at risk. It sent her stomach to the floor to think of how safe they were. Put aside the relocations, what had stopped anyone from finding them through records and destroying them? The answer was nothing.