sea salt, and olive oil. The last items I found inside the basket were a bottle of
white grape juice and a small tin that I knew held tea biscuits.
Bay clapped. "She didn't forget what I liked!"
We munched on our food, savoring the flavors, and Breeze began to speak.
“When your great-grandmother was a child, the Goddess decided to reward her
for her help in saving the magic. My sisters and I were sent to guide the ancestors of Genevieve Silver as they learned how to use the elemental magic.
With Mae, we found our time here was an easy job of magical play. By the time
your mother was born, we realized, to keep your family safe, we needed to be
silent observers. The four of us never appeared to Eliza in our fae form. Instead, we kept our contact to the basic elements that we represent. When she turned fourteen, we knew our reservations had been correct.”
“This isn't the time,” Blaze scolded. The gold of her eyes grew dark, and the
red streaks of her hair began to burn with fire. “We'll have plenty of chances to
discuss the path of Eliza, but today, we've got a small amount of time to help Mara connect again.”
Blowing a burst of wind to put out the flames Blaze was emitting, Breeze
agreed, “No need to become upset. You’re right. The story can keep for another
day.”
Blaze turned to me, staring hard and said, “Now, show us what you have
inside you.”
“What do you mean?" I asked, not hiding my frustration. “I have nothing, but confusion and jumbled memories inside of me.”
Without notice, Blaze threw a ball of fire in front of me onto the picnic cloth.
The small ball erupted and began to burn the yellow fabric. I stared at the fire,
unsure what to do. In response to my inaction, I felt a small gust of wind blow
past me towards the now growing fire. The flames danced and flicked at the wind as if inviting a new friend to the party.
Closing my eyes, I held my hands out and lowered them over the fire. “Wind
of Breeze, Fire of Blaze, Water of Bay, and Stone of Daisy, I call upon you to contain these flames.” Opening my eyes, I noticed it began to flick at me, but my
words had done nothing. The fire grew stronger.
Taking a deep breath, this time, I held out my hands and placed them closer
to the fire. “Winds of Air, flames of Fire, drops of Water, and salt of Earth, I command you to come to me.”
Plunging my hands into the fiery flames, I felt the red-hot heat lick my
fingers, but it wasn't hurting me. Instead, it rushed towards me like hot lava flowing down a mountain. In the palm of my hand, it formed into a ball.
Clasping both hands together, I felt the power of fire rush inside my veins.
As the warmth ran through me, I opened my now empty hands. Only small,
white tendrils of smoke remained.
No sooner had I recovered from the fire than the earth under me began to shake, and the ground split open. The blanket began to sink into the crevice.
Once again, I recited the command.
The earth stopped shaking, but now, there was a ball of mud. It grew larger
as it rolled at me. I wrapped my fingers around the cold, soft soil, and shivered
as it ran throughout my body like an army of worms.
Feeling a mist on the back of my arms, I turned to face what I expected to be
a sphere of water. Instead, I stared at a ten-foot wave that was being swayed by a
strong wind. I was not prepared for such a sight and my hesitation cost me the
