Satisfied with the response, Vesta smiled, then sat on the floor, crossing her legs. “This is going to take some time. Like Taeral said, I haven’t done this in a while. It takes a bit to get myself in the right gear.”
We all waited, patiently, as she closed her eyes and began to slow her breathing. Her heartbeats became scarce. Every inhalation was barely audible to my sharp hearing. The exhalation was slow and deliberate.
Minutes passed in heavy silence. Then, Vesta sucked in a breath and fell backward.
That was it. She’d blacked out. She wasn’t with us anymore.
Vesta
At first, I’d been tempted to say no to Taeral’s request. But I couldn’t, in the end. It was my duty, not only as a GASP agent, but also as a fae. If my brethren were in any trouble, I had to help. I had to do something about it, no matter how much I dreaded being in contact with the Hermessi again.
To be honest, it wasn’t the risk of a possession that scared me. It was the Hermessi themselves. And not because they could hurt me—I’d long since made peace with that thought. But they were natural elements, raw forces of nature, so powerful, so intense. I was humbled just to have been able to speak to one of them.
I felt like a mere mortal tugging at the cloak of a titan from the earthly legends of ancient Greece. How could one do that so casually?
The answer was: one couldn’t.
And so, armed with patience and resolve, I’d allowed myself to drift away from consciousness. Once more, I was flowing like a river, cutting through layers of shale and hard, black rock… then trickling down a mountain… snaking through a lush valley, eagle-like birds flying overhead… in the end, I flowed into the ocean. I became the ocean.
I was looking for the Hermessi, my heart the size of a pellet, hidden in a pocket somewhere.
I knew I wouldn’t find them so easily. I’d have to go much deeper.
They were somewhere between the realms… I heard my body’s thud as it hit the floor, somewhere in the background. Zeriel’s voice, asking if I was okay. I was unresponsive. Too far away to answer him. My love would have to wait a bit—though I was beyond determined to get back to him. Nobody was going to possess me this time.
All I wanted was to talk. Surely, even Aya would understand. We’d done this dance before.
Everything warped around me, twisting and turning me around, like water going through the drain. I got sucked into the purest darkness—a pitch black that made me think of death. Is this what dying would feel like?
All this nothingness, maybe?
Then, at the very center, somewhere far, far away, a light flickered. I had no body, but I could feel myself walking, then running toward the flame. Looking down, I realized I’d been right. There was nothing, yet here I was.
I came to a halt when I recognized the fire burning. It was the perpetual flame of the Fire Hermessi. A bright orange ball, as intense as a miniature sun. I could feel the heat radiating from it, spreading out in waves.
It wasn’t alone.
A river flowed from underneath, as if coming from me, somehow. It circled the flame, but never touched it, as if respecting its boundaries.
The wind blew, harder with every second that went by. A tornado emerged from the darkness, casting ripples across the river and scuffling the fireball. It kept a reasonable distance, though, equally respectful.
Out of the same nothingness, a tree grew before my very eyes. A sprawling thing, as tall as a redwood, with long branches and rich, deep green foliage.
I knew what this was. I’d seen it before.
I’d just stumbled upon a meeting between all four Hermessi of Strava.
The fireball swelled, as if noticing me. What are you doing here, Vesta?
Its voice hummed through me. If I’d had a face, it would’ve burned with a most powerful blush. The Hermessi remembered me. Whether that was a good thing, I wasn’t sure yet.
“I need your help,” I heard myself say.
How did you know to find us again? I recognized Aya’s voice. We broke away after the Blackout. We let you all go back to your lives.
You shouldn’t be here, the Air Hermessi whispered.
“I wasn’t planning to do this, but it’s necessary. As for how I found you, I don’t know. I just did what I did the last time. I reached out,” I replied.
Right when all four of us met. What a coincidence, the Earth Hermessi remarked.
I didn’t like the tone. “Speaking of coincidence, some of the fire fae that were present here, on Strava, during the Blackout, have been getting blown up and killing innocent people. Know anything about that?”
Silence ensued.
It didn’t feel like the angry kind. More like… worried. The Hermessi were worried; I could feel it in my very core. Taeral was definitely on point when he said I had a stronger connection to the elements.
We felt them die, the Fire Hermessi said.
“They were filled with fire, without a physical source. They carved protection symbols into their skin, and they talked about the end of the world coming. Then, they exploded,” I continued. “I’m sure you understand why I’d need to reach out to you about this.”
We know nothing, Aya replied. We only felt the flames die out. All of us, not just our fire brother, here. It was strange. Where did these incidents happen?
“In a few places. Calliope, in Eritopia. The Fire Star. I’m told Releth and Mingar of two different solar systems had exploding fire fae of their own, as well. We’re all worried, because we know it won’t stop there. It will happen again, and we have no idea how to stop it.”
Like my sister said, we know nothing, the Earth Hermessi said.
I despised the dry and meaningless reply. “Do you think maybe your local brethren on Calliope, on the Fire Star, on Releth, and on Mingar are up to no good? Perhaps they’re glitching? Going off the rails?”
