he found. It was about the gypsies who frequently passed through Starten. I wasn’t sure why, but fear filled me.
Am I prepared to face Eliza? I wondered. Will I be able to save my family from her? Is my magic strong enough?
I knew Gram and Elliott had a firm grasp of their gifts, but I wondered about
Cole. “How did you know your gift was Water magic?”
“Lucky guess.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “My memories of an elemental,
named Bay. She was always around me and, sometimes, she would speak to me
at the lake. I really don't have much control over it, yet. But I can do this.” Cole
summoned three balls of water and began to juggle them.
“Show me what you can do, Mara.” Cole dropped the water formations on
the ground, splashing me.
“I can light a candle and I, once, asked Air to blow-dry my hair. I really haven’t learned my gift. Everything I did was the elemental I beckoned at work,
not me. How will that help us?”
Cole stopped and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Mar, there's so much
you can do. You're just not confident. When my home was burning, you called a
rainstorm to put out the fire. Just concentrate on one element and see what you
can do.”
Taking his advice, I thought about Breeze and the air that surrounded her. I
focused on summoning Air and watched as Cole's hair started to whip around. I
smiled and sent a strong wind towards him. I laughed as he struggled to keep his
footing.
“Now, try another element,” Cole called over the howling wind between us.
I held out my hands and focused on forming a ball of fire. A flame the size of
a marble appeared in my palm. I willed it to grow larger. When it reached the size of a grapefruit, Cole held his hand above mine and called a rain shower to
wash over them. Steam rose as he doused the fire.
“See, you had it in you all along.” Cole grinned. “Now, let's get home to Gram and show her what we found."
When we entered the house, I was overwhelmed by the conforming aroma of
chicken soup and baked bread.
Elliott smiled and greeted both of us with a hug. “Did you find anything
useful?” he asked. “Mae has gone to Chester's woodshop to gather some things.”
“We did.” Cole handed the book to him. "In the end, there is a section that
describes the Drygen estate. There's even a map, just as we’d hoped.”
Elliott took the journal and inspected the plans. “This looks correct.”
Jumping up, he rifled through a drawer before he returned with several
sheets of paper. Meticulously, he traced the plans. I watched over his shoulder with curiosity as he added notes.
“This is the most direct route up the mountain. It ends on the backside of the
property.” In contemplation, Elliott tapped his pen on the paper. “Cedric's room
is on this side of the house. Hmmm…This is interesting. There appears to be an
external entrance hidden here.”
Elliott's excitement confused me. It sounds as though he’s been there before,
